


Ghost Racer

by EnviroGirlNJ



Series: Ghost Racer [1]
Category: Ghost Rider (Comics), Speed Racer: The Next Generation (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghost Rider, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Brother Bond/Friendship, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Demonic Possession, Demons, F/M, Found Family, Language Barrier, Long-Lost Relative, Racing, Violence, car racing, first ever story here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 45,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23724751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnviroGirlNJ/pseuds/EnviroGirlNJ
Summary: As the son of Speed Racer, X Racer has everything: he's the number one race car driver at school, the most popular student, and is the perfect boyfriend to his beautiful (albeit bossy with a "slight" mean-streak) girlfriend Annalise Zazic. Though that all changes when a mysterious stranger shows up to collect payment for a past deal, one that X does not remember making. Now X finds himself saddled with the task of capturing viscous demons that have escaped from the depths of hell. At the same time, X must also keep his own (literal and very angry) demon in check. Oh, and then there's the matter of connecting with a brother he never knew existed until now. No pressure right?
Relationships: X Racer/Annalise Zazic (pre-establised relationship)
Series: Ghost Racer [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708840
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everyone,
> 
> This is my first ever story. I've already posted some chapters on FanFiction.Net, but I wanted to start cross-posting here. I came up with the idea of this story after an intense brainstorming period. Also, this story is unbeta'd, so constructive criticism is appreciated. No flames please. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Rider or Speed Racer: the Next Generation. Ghost Rider is owned by Marvel Comics. Speed Racer: the Next Generation is owned by Larry Schwarz, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Speed Racer Enterprises.
> 
> Prologue: The beginning of everything.

_In the beginning, there was darkness._

_Till a higher power bestowed light, creating every known thing and creature in the universe. One of the last creatures to come into existence were humans. Unlike other creatures, humans were given a sense of free will. Angels oversaw these new creatures, ensuring that peace remained. For a time, the newly formed universe lived in peace and harmony._

_However, nothing lasts forever. For somehow, someway, sin found its way into the world. Acts such as war, murder, thievery, etc. all plagued humanity. This caused many to turn their backs on their creator, as they believed their creator had abandoned them. For them, all hope seemed loss._

_Then came Mephisto._

_Not much is known about Mephisto’s origins. Some say Mephisto was a fallen angel, while others say that he was born from the darkness that originally cloaked the universe. What is known is that Mephisto provided a “way out” as he referred to it, to those who had turned their back on their faith. All they had to do was worship him, and they would get “what they deserved”._

_These humans agreed to the deal, but found they had to pay the price. For the wickedness in their souls had transformed them into monstrous beings: the world’s first demons. These demons preyed upon innocent humans, harvesting their souls to fuel their power._

_A fierce battle broke out between the angels and demons. The battle devastated the Earth’s surface, with multiple angel, demon, and human casualties. In the end war eventually ended in stalemate, which resulted in both the angels and demons being sent to separate dimensions. These dimensions have gone by many names, but the ones you are most likely familiar with are ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’._

_A peace treaty, as you may refer to it, prevented both factions from setting foot upon the mortal realm. Despite the cost of the entire battle, sin only continued to persist, even worse than prior to the war. The angels, who had once been the champions of humanity, could not interfere, as they had no choice but to honor the treaty._

_Meanwhile in hell, the demons began to grow restless, as they were hungry for souls. Finding weaknesses in hell’s barrier, small groups of demons could invade the mortal realm to reclaim souls. Only Mephisto could return the demons back to hell, but not before the damage had already been done._

_Enter the Ghost Rider, a being of immense power and infused with a Spirit of Vengeance._

_There were those who believed the Ghost Rider was an agent of heaven. However, some called the Ghost Rider the ‘Devil’s Bounty Hunter’, believing that he captured evil souls and gave them to Mephisto to be tortured. One thing that is certain is the duty of the Ghost Rider: to punish the souls of the wicked and avenge the innocent. Further, the Ghost Rider could track down and return demons back to hell, before any human souls could be taken. The presence of the Ghost Rider ensured that the balanced between Heaven and Hell remained intact._

_Centuries have passed, and the stories of the Holy Battle, Mephisto, and the Ghost Rider are regarded as little more than legends. Now, here’s the thing about so-called ‘legends’: some of them are based on truth._

* * *

_A young boy, roughly around the age of five or six, was seated at the end of a small dining table. The boy fidgeted in his chair, playing with the shirt end of his racecar pajamas. On the other end of the table, was a man with pail skin and slick black hair. The man was formally dressed, with his attire consisting of dress shoes, dress pants, and a jacket with coattails. Perhaps the most peculiar aspect of the man were his eyes; they appeared almost catlike, watching the young boy in front of them with amusement._

_“Well,” the man responded in a playful tone. He gave a wide, almost inhuman smile as he drummed his long, bony fingers on the table. “What do you think?”_

_The young boy jerked his head up, looking at the man with wide, naive eyes. “A-all I have to do is sign,” the boy shuddered as he clutched the small teddy bear in his arms, “And you’ll give me what I want?”_

_“But of course, I’ll give you what you want.” The man gave a wide, cat-like grin. From seemingly out of nowhere, he produced a piece of paper in his hand, before placing the sheet in front of the boy. “Just be sure you’re willing to pay the **price….”**_ ****


	2. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its the start of X's junior year at the prestigious Racing Academy, where he runs into (almost literally) a new face. Afterwards, X ends up reflecting on the past before being given a new challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, 
> 
> So here is the next chapter of the story. It's mostly to just introduce a majority of the Speed Racer: the Next Generation characters (though there is a brief mention of Mephisto). Hopefully you all like it.

X Racer jolted awake from his slumber, hitting the vehicle dashboard in front of him. “Well good morning to you sleeping beauty,” a female voice sarcastically snapped, “Seriously, did you actually fall asleep while I was talking! You better not think that I’m boring you!”

X rubbed his sore forehead as his eyes adjusted to the bright, blinding daylight before remembering where he was. X was in a red sports car, which was zooming past the orange-red rock formations scattered throughout the Arizona desert terrain. The car in question belonged to Annalise Zazic, X’s girlfriend of three years. Currently, she was giving him the mother of all death glares, her knuckles turning white from gripping the car steering wheel so hard. 

“What, no.” X leaned back in the leather car seat and gave his best smolder; that had never failed before. “For one, your car is really comfortable and two…” X’s eyes darted around as he struggled to find a response to satisfy his still glaring girlfriend. “I was…actually having some nice dreams about you.”

It wasn’t the most creative answer, but it seemed to have done the trick, as Annalise’s glare softened, and her tone became more flirtatious. “Oh really.” A sly smile formed on Annalise’s face. “And what ‘nice dreams’ were you having then?”

_‘Nailed it,’_ X mentally fist pumped. However, Annalise was tapping her finger impatiently on the steering wheel. X’s eyes widened slightly when he realized he had to respond. 

“Well…” X gave a flirty smile, while at the same time trying to kick his brain into working gear to come up with something. “We’re on a date. We go to one of your favorite shopping malls. Then we go out to eat at a nice restaurant and I give you nice necklace. You say something like ‘It’s the best present ever!’ and I put it on for you.”

X winced as the words came out of his mouth, as they came across as super cheesy romance clichés. But Annalise didn’t notice or seem to care, as she ran her one hand through her strawberry blonde hair (Yet somehow still being able to control the speeding car). “Go on.”

X blinked in surprise that his “romantic talk” had actually worked. ‘ _Guess all those_ _rom-com flicks that Annalise insist we watch on movie night are good for something.’_

Resuming his confident expression, X leaned closer to his girlfriend. “Well, we end off the day at a cliff, watching the sunset together. We look into each other’s eyes, then-”

“Eww. Gross!” A male voice exclaimed, before another similar sounding voice chimed in. “Like get a room you too.”

Completely flustered, X had forgotten that two other passengers where in the car: Jared and Jesse. The two were a pair of blond-haired identical twins that were nearly impossible to tell apart. To be honest, they weren’t the easiest people to hang out with. The two were not very intelligent and would often bicker with each other. Really the only reason X hung out with them is that 1) they had a slight adoration for X (hey, fans were fans) and 2) they were actually pretty good drivers when they got along. To make the present scenario even more awkward, the two had started making mock kissing noises.

X jumped back into his seat out of pure shock and embarrassment. X attempted to make a comeback response, but his mouth refused to form words. Fortunately for X, Annalise had him covered. “Oh, knock it off you too!” Annalise rolled her eyes and gave the twins an annoyed look (while, again, somehow controlling a speeding vehicle). “Your just jealous that neither of have any girlfriends of your own!” 

It was the twins’ turn to be flustered. “Hey, tha-that’s totally not true!” Jesse (or maybe it was Jared) pointed his finger indignantly. “Like, this one girl over the summer gave me the ‘call me’ symbol and -”

“What no way dude!” Jared (or Jesse) dope slapping his twin in the head. “That girl was totally looking at me. We had ‘eye contact’. Everyone knows that means a relationship is serious. She was totally into **ME** not **YOU**!”

The first twin had recovered from the slap and began giving his brother a noogie. “Oh, that is BS and you know it! She told me we had ‘chemistry’. That means I’m smarter than you! And smarts totally beats some lame ‘eye contact’!”

“Oh yeah!” The second twin broke out of the noogie to give his twin a wet willy. “Since when did ‘science’ mean that a girl is interested. All that matters is if the girl is hot. And she was definitely hot. Waaaay hotter than Annalise!”

**“EXCUSE ME!”** Annalise’s eyes shone with a livid fire as she practically growled at the boys. Both twins gulped and shrank back from Annalise, who looked ready to kill the duo for daring to think there was a girl prettier than her. This fear was quickly forgotten as both twins began to argue on which of them had made Annalise mad first.

X sighed as the three continued to relentlessly bicker with each other. Normally, he would play peacemaker to make everyone get along or at the very least shut up. However, this time X didn’t mind the insistent arguing, as it gave him time to ponder on what his _actual_ dream had been about. He honestly didn’t know what to make of the dream.

It had been like watching a movie, being an observer and not being able to interact with the characters. As for the dream ‘characters’ he easily recognized the young child as his childhood self (Mr. Zoom Zoom the teddy bear had been a dead giveaway; though X would **never** admit to owning something like that). Though the other guy…X honestly didn’t know what to make of him. Throughout the whole dream, the bizarre man had watched his younger self with unblinking eyes. It reminded him of some of his Uncle Spritle’s old nature documentaries, with the way a predator looked at their prey before going in for the kill. However, it wasn’t the man’s stare that unnerved X, but rather the feeling of familiarity. As if X had met the man before. 

Further, the dream itself had become something of a regular occurrence since the beginning of the summer. Originally, X written off the dream as a product of late-night snacks (he had cut back on Doritos for that reason). Despite this, the dream had not gone away. Rather, the dream had become more vivid overtime. It was starting to feel less like a dream and more like…a memory? 

_‘Snap out of it X, it’s probably nothing’_ X reasoned to himself. _'_ _It’s just nerves. You’re getting freaked out over a stupid dream for no reason.’_ The group were nearly at Racing Academy by this point, as X could see the Academy’s large white tower poke over the desert terrain. The Racing Academy was a school where teens could hone in their driving skills to become the next top racers (some people thought the concept of a racing school was crazy, but it’s less crazy than the idea of a school that teaches teens how to play children’s card games). X turned his eyes to the front of the car, gazing out to the long straight road ahead. In the distance, X could vaguely make out a person in the middle of the road, walking to the Academy’s main entrance. And the car was still going roughly 80 mph in the person’s direction.

“Guys!” X waved his arms trying to get his still-arguing friends’ attention. X didn’t want to experience vehicular manslaughter on his first day back at the Academy. **“GUYS!”**

X finally got the groups attention, and not a moment too soon. Jared had Jesse in a chokehold, and Jesse was biting Jared’s hand. Annalise had been shaking her one free hand at the two and looked close to punching the twins. The three looked at X. X pointed his arm in front of them, showing the person walking in the road. The angry frown on Annalise’s face shifted into a mischievous smirk. “Watch this boys.”

With a quick turn of the steering wheel, Annalise manage to swerve the car around the person, pulling off a perfect donut maneuver, before coming to a complete stop. At this point, X could finally see the individual up close. Standing to the far left of the sports car was a young teen, probably somewhere around X’s age. The teen had short brown hair and blue eyes. Further, the teen was wearing a pair of blue jeans, blue t-shirt with a red star on the sleeves, and a lighter blue long sleeved shirt underneath (how the teen wasn’t experiencing heatstroke was beyond X’s best guess). The teen looked like a “deer in the headlights”, and given that he had narrowly been run over, X wouldn’t blame the teen. 

“Hey kid,” X said, hoping to create an icebreaker. “What are you doing standing in the middle of the road?”

“Uhhh…” The teen started trying to find his voice. “I was just going to-”

“Great. Another noob.” Annalise rolled her eyes. a slight scowl had formed on her face. X gave Annalise a look, he never understood why she disliked new students. X then turned his head back to the teen, taking note of the overly large duffel bag in the teen’s possession.

“Need a lift?” X tilted his head, hoping to make a better first impression than his girlfriend.

The teen’s eyes light up. “That would be great.” The teen started to make his way to the car, before noticing something.

“Hey,” the teen pointed to a tattoo on X’s arm, which happened to be in the shape of a large black X. “You’re X, aren’t you?” The teen reached for the car handle. “I’ve seen you race like a million-”

Before the teen could finish, Annalise pressed the accelerator, causing the car to lurch forward at least ten feet. The poor teen was left stunned as he processed what had happened. Apparently, Jared and Jesse thought it was the funniest thing ever, as they started laughing like hyenas. X rolled his eyes at their antics.

“Ooops. Sorry.” Annalise mockingly apologized, turning back to face the teen with a fake smile.

Undeterred, the teen once again made his way over to the car. “I saw you at Daytona. Well, on TV, not actually at the track, your great.”

X gave a faint smile at the compliment. It wasn’t stuff that X hadn’t already heard before, but he was a little flattered by the teen’s comments. However, X’s friends seemed to regard the comments with indifference. 

“Seriously dude get in,” Jared lounged his arms over the back of the car, half looking back at the teen. “We’re going to be late.”

Once again, the teen tried to reach for the car, only for Annalise to once again lurch the car forward. And again, the twins where sent into fits of hysterical laughter. X merely groaned at the “hilarious joke”.

“Cool it Annalise.” X chided his girlfriend before turning his attention back to the teen. Come to think of it, X didn’t even know the teen’s name. “What’s your name?”

“Speed” the teen said matter-of-factly. A beat passed among the group.

“Like ‘Speed Racer’. Yeah right.” Jared scoffed. Jared, Jesse, and Annalise all snickered at this supposed joke. All except X, who could only stare at the teen.

“Your joking.” X’s smile had shifted into a deadpan expression.

“No, it really is.” The teen (named Speed apparently) shifted his stance awkwardly.

“Speed huh,” Annalise once again had a mischievous grin on her face. “Let’s see if he’s as fast as the _real_ Speed Racer.”

Before anyone could say anything, Annalise had shifted her car into high gear and floored it, leaving the poor teen in the dust. All while Jared and Jesse mockingly chanted “Go, Speed, Go!”

* * *

“Was that _really_ necessary?” X asked, the annoyance in his tone very evident.

“Was ‘what’ necessary.” Annalise feigned innocence, placing a small bag onto X’s dorm bed.

After the Academy’s orientation speech, Annalise had helped moved X’s luggage into his dorm room. Though ‘help’ should really be used more in a loose sense with referring to Annalise, as X did most of the heavy lifting. In fact, Annalise only brought in three bags tops and they all weighed less than ten pounds. 

“You know what I mean. Your whole ‘let’s mess around with the new kid’. It’s a little childish if you ask me.” X crossed his arms, shifting his stance. “Seriously, what do you have against freshman?”

Annalise sat at the end of X’s bed. “Hey. I don’t have anything ‘against freshmen’. I just think that those noobs need to realize that people don’t play nice at that school. It’s better they learn it sooner than later.” She crossed her legs, lightly kicking them against the bed’s backboard.

“Besides, ‘Speed’, I mean what kind of lame name is _that_!” Annalise scoffed, before immediately catching herself. “Like, no offense to your dad or anything, but you get my point don’t you.”

True, the name ‘Speed’ had caught X off guard, as he honestly thought the teen was joking. But…something in X’s gut told him that the teen wasn’t lying about his name. Afterall, Uncle Spritle had always told X to give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe, Speed’s parents had been major fans of X’s father and wanted to name their son after him. It wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. X was about to respond, only for Annalise’s cell phone to start ringing, which she immediately answered.

“Yeah, hello.” Annalise listened to the person on the other end for approximately fifteen seconds, before her look of indifference shifted into that of absolute anger. 

“WHAT?!?” Annalise had her phone in a near death grip (Though careful enough not to break it. Annalise had already crushed three phones over the summer and didn’t want this one to be the fourth; it took far too long for the replacement phones to be delivered). “I specifically told you that my makeup desk is to go _near_ the window not in the-.”

X couldn’t hear who was on the other end, but it sounded like the person was frantically trying to explain themselves.

“I don’t care what the safety precautions are!” Annalise looked like she was going to strangle somebody, most likely the unfortunate fellow on the other end of the phone. “Either you do what you’re told, or I’ll have my daddy fire you all on the spot. Now you move that makeup desk, RIGHT NOW!”

The person on the other end sounded resigned to their fate and gave an unheard order to the other movers in Annalise’s room. The quiet only lasted five seconds, before a series of shouts, followed by a loud crashing noise could be heard on the other end of the phone.

“WHAT WAS THAT! I AM COMING OVER RIGHT NOW!” Annalise temporarily put the phone down (but did not hang up) and prepared to walk to the door. “Sorry X,” her earlier anger toned down to mere annoyance. “I gotta go,” she leaned up to give X a light kiss on the cheek before leaving the room.

All the while, X could still hear Annalise as she stomped down the hallway in her high-heeled boots, screaming into her phone the whole time. X felt sorry for the movers that had to face his girlfriend’s wrath. X then turned to look at the remaining bags in his room. 

_‘Guess it’s up to me to unpack everything. Great.’_ X began to unzip the first bag. Unlike the other students at the Academy, X had a special room (it was one of the perks of being one of the few top drivers at the Academy). It was about twice the size of a normal dorm at the Academy. Further, it came with entire wall window overlooking the campus and surrounding dessert. Better yet, X had the room all to himself, which came with its own benefits: private bathroom, no snoring roommate, no stuff getting ‘borrowed’, etc. 

The whole unpacking process had gone faster than X thought, as he was left with only one more bag. X unzipped the final duffel bag, which contained a couple of knick knacks: a few of his Turbo McCallister bobble heads, trophies from some of his older races, and a couple of his favorite video games (All of which had been carefully wrapped in bubble wrap and tissue paper. Though for the video games that was to prevent people from reading the titles; X really wished to avoid being labeled a “video game geek”). 

X was about to fold up the bag when he felt a rectangular object somewhere in the bag’s folds. Curious, X reached into the bag and removed the object: it was a framed photograph. Specifically, a photograph of a two-year-old X, a mile-wide smile on his face, being held by his father, the legendary Speed Racer. X felt a pit form in his stomach as he viewed the picture (and it wasn’t because of the old ‘embarrassing baby photo’ thing).

X’s father, Speed Racer, had been one of the top racers in the world, breaking records and always coming out on top of the competition. Not only that, but the man had practically been a superhero, stopping numerous villains practically every Saturday. It’s no surprise that Speed Racer had garnered a large level of fame, one that spanned worldwide. 

Then, Speed Racer just disappeared.

It had been only a couple of years after X was born, but Speed Racer had dropped off the face of the earth. No paper trail, no surveillance footage, no supposed sightings, just straight up vanished into thin air. Over the years, various conspiracy theories arose from the mystery, ranging from somewhat probable (running off with a mistress) to the downright bizarre (being abducted by aliens).

X clutched the photo tighter, mixed emotions swirling in his head. X had never been sure what to make of the whole “disappearance” thing. _Why_ did _you leave dad?’_ X silently interrogated the photo, despite knowing he wouldn’t get an answer. _'_ _What happened to you? Did you run away? Were you kidnapped? Was I just not good en-’_

A knock at the door disrupted X’s train of though. Placing the photo back in the bag, X turned and opened the door. An older, formally dressed man stood at the door, slightly shorter than X with similar brown hair. Although the man’s face was lined with wrinkles, they did little to diminish his wide, warm smile.

“X,” The man reached forward to pull X into a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Uncle Spritle.” X groaned in slight annoyance, but still returned the hug anyway. “You literally just saw me this morning.”

Uncle Spritle was the younger brother of Speed Racer. Spritle had been only a young kid during the beginning of Speed Racer’s driving career. Over the years, he had grown from an obnoxious, impulsive kid into a wise and caring man. A man who, after Speed Racer’s disappearance, had raised X like his own child. Additionally, Spritle served as the principle of the Racing Academy, which X felt came with some additional school perks (Though Spritle had always insisted that he treated X like any other student and did not show any familial favoritism). 

Spritle had pulled back from the hug. “I know, but still. Junior year, it doesn’t happen to everyone you know.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t have to make that big a deal out of it.” X rubbed the back of his head. While X, loved his Uncle, he had a habit of treating _everything_ like some huge life milestone.

“Oh, it’s a very big deal. I mean, you’re almost a grown man, X.” Spritle, placed a reassuring hand on X’s shoulder. “How the years have gone by. You know, it feels like yesterday when I was changing your diapers.”

X felt his face go hot and his mouth become dry. Fortunately for X, his main saving grace was that his Uncle had chosen the solitude of his dorm room and _not_ someplace like the school’s common area to give his nephew ‘compliments’.

“So, what do you need?” X rushed the question out, hoping to change the subject. 

“Oh right. Forgot at about that.” Spritle briefly brought a hand to his head, now remembering the reason he had come to X in the first place. “Well you know the Qualifier Race is to begin shortly right?”

“Yeah” X tilted his head slightly. For the incoming students that had applied for the Academy, they had one final step to complete in order to become official students: compete in the Qualifier Race. X always though it worked like Reality TV game shows: the students that won got to stay while the losing students got sent home. “What about it?”

“Well, a few Professors came to me this morning with…some concerns about the Qualifier Race.” Spritle cleared his throat and continued. “Basically…they feel as though the race is too easy, and therefore needs some extra challenge. As a solution, they suggested bringing in a more ‘experienced driver’ to increase the race’s difficultly. Now, I know this is last minute but-” 

“So, you want me to drive in the Qualifier then?” X asked, cutting his Uncle off, before giving a slight shrug. “Sure, I’ll do it. I could use a little practice race anyway.” 

“Remember X,” Spritle had a slightly stern expression on his face as he prepared to give his nephew another one of his lectures. “Most of these drivers are beginners. I know you like to win and all, but just make sure to-”

“Go a little easy on them.” X finished his Uncle’s sentence, before heading over to the door. “Don’t worry. I won’t go overboard. Besides, I’ll show those newbies what a _real_ race is like.”

With that, X left his uncle in his dorm as he eagerly made his way to the Academy garages. X’s heart was pumping rapidly, like it always did before a race. X was about to show these newcomer students just why he was listed as the Number One driver at the Racer Academy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short chapter, I know; next one is longer. Also, the next chapter is the last pre-written one, so once that is posted it will take longer for new uploads. Again, I am open to constructive criticism if my writing needs work.


	3. Take Your Marks!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: X and his friends nearly committed vehicular manslaughter on a new student. After X ponders the fate of his father, his Uncle asks if he can compete in the Qualifier Race.
> 
> This chapter: X competes in the qualifier, and learns that the competition has some impressive skills. Meanwhile, Speed meets new friends at the Academy who help him with a problem. Elsewhere, dark forces begin to emerge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I know, another chapter already. Well, I'm uploading this one so that my Archive of My Own Page is caught up with my FanFiction.Net Page. This chapter is also longer than the last one. Also, this chapter is mostly a novelization of the first episode of Speed Racer: the Next Generation. I'll try to make the future chapters more original in terms of content. Let me know what you think.
> 
> Also, again a disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Rider or Speed Racer: the Next Generation (including novelized dialogue). Ghost Rider belongs to Marvel Comics. Speed Racer: the Next Generation belongs too Larry Schwarz, Animation Collective, Lionsgate Entertainment, and Speed Racer Enterprises.

Chapter 2: Take Your Marks

It did not take long for X to change into his white and red racing colors, as it was practically like slipping into a second skin. Going into the garage, X could see his car: The Shooting Star, named after his Uncle Rex's car from his days as mysterious masked Racer X. Rex Racer, the older brother of Speed Racer and Spritle Racer (and whom X was named after), had run away from home and became Racer X to protect his family from danger. Sadly, X never got a chance to know the man, as Rex Racer had passed away at roughly the same as Speed Racer went missing.

Sliding into the driver's seat, X turned the key in the ignition, causing the engine to roar to life. It felt like ages since X had last driven the Shooting Star, and in a way, it had. X had spent most of his summer doing make up classes, as he had failed a few of them his previous year. Just because X was the top racer at the Academy, didn't exactly mean he did well grade wise. No matter, it was a new year, and it was time to show the competition who was boss.

"Alright, time to head out!" X stated as the Shooting Star rolled smoothly out of the garage. As X drove alongside the garages, he got a glimpse of a familiar figure to his left; it was the teen with the "weird name" Speed. There were two other people standing next to Speed, but X only got a brief glimpse of them (from what X could tell, one of them was a mechanic and the other…was wearing his dad's clothes). From the looks of it, Speed appeared to be getting his car set for the Qualifier.

' _Guess I shouldn't be too surprised he's participating in this. Afterall, he's a new student, so it's pretty much mandatory.'_ X mused as he finally reached his destination: The Racing Academy racetrack.

The Academy's racetrack was a sight a behold. The track itself was roughly ten miles long and had stands that could seat up to 300 individuals. In fact, in certain occasions, official races would be held at the Academy, which drew in a lot of excitement. By the time X got to the track, the place was practically full of students. X got out of his car, giving a couple of waves to some passing students. X wasn't going to lie, he loved the spotlight and the attention it brought him; the racetrack was practically X's second home.

"Um…excuse me," a female voice called out. X saw a black hair teen girl wearing a hoodie tentatively approach him, adjusting a pair of glasses on her face. X didn't remember seeing the girl at the Academy last year, and since she wasn't in racing colors, he deduced that she was most likely a relative of one of the students. "Ar-are you X Racer?" The girl mumbled; her words barely audible.

"Yup." X couldn't help forming a smug expression on his face. "The one and only."

"Well, I, uh, I-I-I-." The flustered girl fumbled for words as she pulled out a standard sized book with the word "Autographs" emblazed on the front with glitter. X didn't need to hear the girl's response, as he could guess what the girl was asking for.

"No problem." X gently took the book from the girl, found a blank page and wrote his signature. Once finished, X turned the book back over to the girl. "Here you go."

The girl's eyes light up. "Th-th-thank you so much!" The girl ran back over to her friends, who were making their way into the stands, showing them the autograph.

"Admiring, your _fangirls_ I see." X broke out of his reverie and turned around to see Annalise, tapping her foot on the hard concrete with her arms crossed.

' _Here we go again.'_ X mentally sighed, before putting on his best flirty smile. "Yes, but they're nowhere near as beautiful as you."

Unlike earlier in the day in Annalise's car, the compliment didn't work, as Annalise turned away with a pouty expression on her face. She always had this reaction whenever X paid too much attention to his fans, _especially_ if they were other girls.

"Come on" X remarked in a flirty tone, before following up with a comment that never failed: "You know you're the only girl I'm interested in."

Annalise turned around, with a faint smile on her face. Before Annalise could say anything, she was shoved aside by Jared and Jesse, who had run across the track. "X!" Jared struggled to catch his breath. "You gotta go say something your dad!"

"My…dad?" For a second, X thought that his father had miraculously returned from…wherever he had been for the past sixteen years. Then it took another second for X to remember this was Jared and Jesse, who had both once mistaken an Academy janitor for the U.S. President. "What did my 'dad' do to you?" X sighed and rolled his eyes, not looking forward to dealing with the twins' antics, especially before a race.

"He threw rocks at us!" Jesse rubbed a sore shoulder.

"My dad…threw rocks at you?" X completely deadpanned.

"Yeah! Like, we tried throwing rocks at that Speed kid, but your dad's statue threw them back and hit us with them! You gotta make sure he doesn't do that! It hurts!" Jared clutched a hurt arm.

The statue in question was a rather large replica of Speed Racer that, like most statues, was completely inanimate and devoid of sentience. A long, awkward beat passed amongst the group. X honestly didn't know if he should laugh, facepalm, or call a therapist for the two twins regarding that statement. It was moments like this that made X wonder why he was friends with these two.

" _Anyway."_ Annalise growled, clearly not a big fan of being knocked over of being interrupted or idiotic claims, before shifting into a softer tone. "I think it's a good idea to be here to sup-"

"Hey, look!" Jared pointed over to the left, while shoving a hotdog (which he miraculously had not dropped on his marathon to the track) in his mouth.

Before Annalise could explode in anger, her attention (along with Jesse and X) was drawn to an interesting sight: the teen apparently named Speed was pushing his car into the racetrack. Though X at least presumed it was supposed to be a car. The thing was covered in rusted metal that barely hung onto the car's frame. The whole thing looked like it would fall apart if someone were to sneeze next to it. X almost felt pity for the kid. Though that sentiment clearly wasn't shared by the rest of X's friends.

"Look! It's Speed Bump!" Annalise pointed at Speed with a mile-wide grin on her face, trying yet failing to contain her laughter at the sight of the junk car.

"Go Speed! GO!" Jared and Jesse threw up their arms in a mock cheer while their mouths were stuffed with hotdogs (it was rather miraculous that they didn't choke).

"This is going to be classic. Look at that junker!" A smirk formed on Annalise's face as she continued to look at the car, if you could really call it that.

Normally, X would have asked Annalise to back down from her mocking, as it had really gotten old by this point. However, X merely kept his mouth shut with his best poker face expression on. You see, X had a "sports superstition" in that he tried to avoid possible confrontation/arguments right before a race. It allowed for X to maintain focus on a race and not on personal drama. Besides, though X would never admit it, the idea of someone showing up to compete in a race in… _that_ was slightly amusing.

"X, my boy, how are you?" A voice broke X out of his racing daydreams. Turning X found the source of the voice: Zile Zazic, X's main racing sponsor and the father of Annalise. Zile was an older man (though it should be advised to never speak the "o" word out loud) with white greying hair wearing a formal black business suit.

"I'm good Mr. Zazic." X stated, making sure to maintain his poker face. Despite Zile's apparent "friendliness", X had never been entirely comfortable with his girlfriend's dad.

"I've asked you a million times to call me Zile." Zile stated in his off-putting friendly tone, before turning to face a person to his right. "STAN! NACHO!" The person in question, Stan, picked out a nacho from a large plate and placed it in Zile's open mouth.

Stan was an…interesting individual. He was probably close to seven to eight feet tall and about as wide as three people. In other circumstances, Stan would make for a pretty intimidating bodyguard. That is, if Stan's size wasn't comprised entirely of fat (instead of muscle) and didn't have the average intelligence of a starfish.

"A man in your position deserves respect, Mr. Zazic. After all, you built this track." X commented. The statement was probably pretty generic, but it was probably something that Zile would enjoy hearing (after all, X had heard Zile make these statements countless times).

The compliment seemed to do the trick, as Zile turned to look at X with a warm smile on his face (which, again, was very off-putting) "I didn't build it, X. I had it built for me. Besides, you're in the mutual admiration club now."

X gave an aside glance to Annalise, who had a blank expression wordlessly stating, 'don't ask'.

"If you say so, sir. Thanks." X gave an awkward shrug, not knowing what else to stay.

"No. Thank you for making these races so exciting," Zile complimented, before turning back to Stan with an open mouth. X could feel his stomach churching, his mouth held slightly agape at the sight of Stan feeding Zile yet another nacho. After finally finishing the nacho chip, Zile once again turned to look at X "It's the reason I give so much to this school."

"Hey, dad," Annalise chimed in, having sensed her boyfriend's growing discomfort. "Everyone knows X is great, but the race is about to start. Maybe you should go to your private box now."

"Ah, excellent. Thank you, honey. Come along Stan" Zile and Stan had started to walk away. After a few steps, Zile stopped with his back turned to X. "Get out there and show those new students, what racing is all about, X."

Zile turned around to point dramatically at X. "Only the strongest drivers deserve to race on my track." Finally, Zile and Stan walked away and left the racetrack.

X could only look at Annalise with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know, my dad and his 'inspirational speeches'. Huh." Annalise gave a rarely seen awkward smile. "Anyway, you need to get out there and show that competition who is boss."

With that Annalise, who was soon followed by Jared and Jesse, turned to head towards that spectator stands. After watching them go for a bit, X got into the Shooting Star and started up the engine, making his way to the starting line. As X approached, the race announcer was reading off the names of the participants. However, X was only half listening, as he continued to maintain his focus on the upcoming race. That was until, the announcer got to the last name of competitors.

"From Parts Unknown-" The announcer paused, apparently needing to refer to someone out of the microphone range. "Is this Right? Speed? Like Speed Racer." After receiving some unheard confirmation, the announcer returned to the microphone. "Ok. From Parts Unknown, Speed."

_'So apparently 'Speed' is this kid's real name after all.'_ X pondered to himself, before he registered the other part of the announcer's message. _''Parts unknown', the heck does that mean?'_

X didn't have time to ponder that question, as the announcer had reached the name of the final contestant: "And setting the pace for our new students, the son of legendary Speed Racer – X." As the announcer was speaking, X pulled into the empty spot in the row of racers at the starting line. All the while the stands erupted into cheers at the arrival of the prodigy racer.

_'Well that was a nice introduction.'_ X smiled to himself, before once again turning his focus to the upcoming race. However, X couldn't help but spare a glance to the car to his left; it was Speed's rundown junker, which was somehow still running. _'Seriously, what's the deal with this guy?'_

"Ladies and gentlemen," Spritle, whom X could barely see on the Academy balcony, began to address the contestants. "Welcome to the world's most advanced race-training facility, known simply as the Track. For some of you, this is your first chance to race here. Lose focus for a second, and you will fail."

_'Yeah right. Like I'll let that happen.'_ X's eyes remained glued to the racetrack ahead. When it came to a race, there was nothing that stood between X and the finish line. As X revved the Shooting Star's engine, he spared a glance to Speed. _'Let's see if you are as actually as good as my dad.'_

"Good luck to you all." And with that Spritle concluded his speech. No sooner than Spritle finished speaking than the large starting projection had started to buzz, indicating the race was about to begin.

Once again, X shifted his eyes quickly to Speed's vehicle. _'Time to see what you're really made of.'_

The second light lit up. Pure adrenaline was pumping through X's veins, but he made sure to keep his breathing even.

The starting projection had then changed to a green sign with a single message: GO!

The cars shot out of the starting line, all jockeying for first place.

The race was on and…it wasn't that exciting. Now, to everyone in the spectator stands, the event was exhilarating, as they were all cheering their heads off. But for X, this was practically child's play. X effortlessly steered the Shooting Star into first place and didn't really need to try to keep this position. One of the racers moved left, X countered with a slight turn of the steering wheel and blocked him. Another driver moved right, which took X minimal effort to block as well. This soon become a pattern that X began to fall into with the two drivers.

The other students behind X where either too scared or inexperienced to pass him. A tiny sliver of X thought of slowing down to give the students chance and considered easing up on the accelerator. But he quickly shoved the notion from his head, pressing harder on the accelerator.

' _I came here to show these noobs what a real race is like. There's no way that I'm just going to let them win.'_ X reasoned to himself, rounding a tight left turn at 180 mph. ' _Still though, it stinks that this race is going to be pretty boring.'_

Indeed, it seemed as though X's first place position would remain unchallenged for the rest of the race.

That was until the announcer started getting excited. "Did you see that, folks? I don't believe it!" The announcer exclaimed, completely dumbfound yet amazed. "Speed is driving backward on the track!"

_'Wait, what?'_ X looked into his rearview mirror. In it he could barely see Speed's rundown car, which was in last place, was indeed driving backwards. X watched as Speed effortlessly weave his trash car through each of the racers, ending up in second place. "No way."

The maneuver in question was extremely familiar to X, who had watched numerous home videos of it being performed by a… _specific individual_.

"The 180 Reverse Thrust! That's my father's move!" X exclaimed, glaring back the teen in his rearview mirrors. Okay, having the same name as his dad was tolerable, but pulling off one of his father's famous racing maneuvers, that was pushing it.

Before X knew it, Speed turned his car back around in another 180 arc, passing X's car and assuming first place.

' _Oh, it's on now!'_ X revved his car's engines, preparing to take on this new challenger. Before X could formulate a plan, a loud thud made him jump. _'The heck was that?!'_

The answer came from the car in front of X, as pieces of scrap metal fell off Speed's car and tumbled down the racetrack. Some of these pieces, including a tire hubcap, hit X's car. Speed's car was literally falling apart. _'Okay seriously the Academy_ really _needs to update on what qualifies as a car for these things.'_ X quickly thought, wincing as the left rearview mirror of Speed's car hit the Shooting Star.

Normally, X would usually give a vehicle a slight nudge, just enough for the driver to temporary lose control of the vehicle and briefly slow down. But Speed's car looked so fragile that X was afraid that the slightest touch would cause the thing to fall apart. And X really did not want to experience the sight of the teen brutally rolling down the racetrack. X decided to go to plan B: a simple pass maneuver, which always seemed to work against new students. However, when X moved right, Speed blocked on the right. When X tried to feign left, Speed was prepared with another block. No matter which direction X went, Speed somehow managed to block him. _'Damn. This kid has skills.'_

By this point, X was nearly approaching top speed. Though he would never admit it, it was becoming rather difficult for X to maintain control of the Shooting Star. The slightest shift of the steering wheel threatened to cause X's car to veer off into the crash barrier. Despite the apparent danger, X refused to back down; he was like a wolf perusing a rabbit. As the relentless chase continued, more pieces of Speed's car continued to fall off. However, X managed to dodge the pieces with graceful ease. The hood of Speed's car was the next thing to fall off. The however, the hood remained attached to Speed's car, completely obscuring the front window. Speed started to veer wildly around the track in a desperate attempt to remove the hazard.

' _Is this dude crazy!'_ X watched the sight in front of him with a growing sense of fear (and perhaps guilt) forming in his gut. _'If he doesn't stop now he's going to get himself seriously hurt!'_

A streak of black appeared in X's peripheral vision. Turning his head left X saw one of the other racers in a black race car accelerate and take first place, leaving Speed in second and X in _third._ _'How did I miss-, ugh. Nevermind. Stay_ focused _on the race X. No more distractions.'_

Meanwhile Speed had once again turned his car in a 180 maneuver dislodging the obstructing car hood. The car hood broke off from the racing junkpile and tumbled down the track. Fortunately, the car hood was nowhere near X. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for another driver, who had skidded off to the side after driving over the hood. At this point, X had finally found his solution to reclaim first place.

"Time to end this." X reached to the Shooting Star's console, to activate his secret weapon: his Turbo Thrusters. They provided X a temporary speed boost, leaving the competition in the dust. X didn't think he'd have to use them, but clearly the competition was much harder than he thought. And desperate times call for desperate measures.

With a quick press of a button, X's car soon shot off like a rocket past both Speed and the other racer's car, allowing X to reclaim first place. Against better judgement, X decided lightly nick the front wheel of the other driver, sending the car into a rapid tailspin.

_'That's what you get for trying to pass_ me, _'_ X thought spitefully. However, the car stopped its tailspin and was now violently rolling on the track; the driver inside was being thrown around the car interior. X looked back with his rearview mirror, the blood draining from his face. ' _Oh shit. I didn't mean to do that!'_

To make matters worse, the tumbling car was now heading right for Speed; the resulting accident would surely cause severe injuries to both drivers. Fortunately, Speed had adjusted his acceleration, allowing him to dodge the airborne vehicle. Additionally, the tumbling car had managed to land completely upright without so much as a scratch.

_'Oh thank God, I didn't kill anyone.'_ X looked behind him, his breath finally returning. _'Hopefully Uncle Spritle doesn't ground me for that.'_

However, there was still a race to win, and X was determined to stay in first. And after that close call, X was sure that Speed was long in the dust. "That'll slow him down." X smirked, as he could see the finish line in the distance. Apparently, X was not familiar with the concept of 'jinxing it'. As no sooner had X said those words, Speed's car zoomed past X and resumed first place. X stared at Speed's car completely slack jawed. _'Are you freaking kidding me right now!'_

"Hey!" X exclaimed at the Speed's car (despite knowing the teen couldn't hear him). There was no way X was going to give up now; the finish line was literally around the corner. X floored on the accelerator to catch up to Speed's car, allowing him to get neck to neck with the vehicle.

However, the strain on Speed's junk car finally caught up to it, as the one rear tire broke off its axle. This resulted in a chain reaction of the other tires falling off the as well. The tireless race car was spinning rapidly across the racetrack.

"Later." X gave a sarcastic wave to Speed's spinning car while crossing the finish line in first place. "Nice try kid," X chided, looking at the stands expecting to see a crowd of cheering students.

Except the crowd wasn't cheering, but rather staring in complete horror.

X tilted his head in confusion at the crowd's odd reaction. However, X didn't have time to question the crowd's reaction as the announcer had come back onto the microphone. "It looks like Speed is in trouble!" The announcer stated with a noticeable tremble in his voice. "His car is fully engulfed in smoke at the finish line!"

_'WHAT!?'_ One look in X's review mirror confirmed the announcer's statement: Speed's rundown car had started producing excessive amounts of thick, black suffocating smoke. Two firefighter robotic vehicles had rushed onto the scene, spraying the smoking car with foam to prevent it from bursting into flames.

X's first thought, absurdly enough, was to formulate an excuse (something along the lines of "I had nothing to do with that. I didn't even touch his car. It fell apart on its own.")

However, the announcer had cued his microphone up again. "Wait a second. I see something." The announcer began to speak before stopping. A long, tension filled pause had passed. After what felt like hours, the announcer came back on again, sounding ecstatic. "He's all right folks! Speed is all right! What an exciting race!"

X let out a sigh of relief when he saw Speed emerge from the vehicle completely unscathed. Pulling the Shooting Star into a complete stop, X got out of the car and rushed over to the teen. "Not bad kid," X said as he approached the teen. "Where'd you learn that move?"

"Uh, I don't know." Speed gave an awkward shrug, rubbing the back of his head. "I just did it."

And with that comment, any sympathy X had for the teen instantly evaporated. _'Does this dude seriously think he can take credit for one of_ my _father's moves! Only I can do that!'_

"Yeah right! You've seen my father do it a million times, only he did it better!" A scowl formed on X's face as he glared at the teen.

"Well, yeah," Speed answered with sincerity, a sheepish smile on his face (which X mistook as a show of arrogance). "He's Speed Racer."

"Exactly. And you're not!" X exploded at the confused teen before storming off, his thoughts swirling around his head like an angry tornado. _'The only reason you did well today was because I was going easy. Let's see how you fair in an actual race against me! Mark my words 'Speed', you are going_ down! _'_

* * *

While the stands of students had their eyes glued to each of the cars as they had crossed the finish line, one man seated at the top row didn't. Instead, the formally dressed man had his gaze fixed on the seventeen-year-old X Racer as he stomped into his black race car and drive off to the Academy garages.

' _His skills are rather remarkable.'_ The man mused, a wicked smile growing on his face. _'The boy will be_ perfect _for my needs.'_

"Uh…excuse me sir?" a hesitant force rang out, breaking the man's concentration. Turning his gaze to the left, the man saw a young male student wearing a security uniform. A rather noticeable detail of the student's uniform was a badge which read 'Racing Academy Security Officer in Training'.

"To what do I owe the pleasure." The man stood up to stare down at the teen, who has about a foot shorter than the man. The teen looked up at the man with wide eyes and his voice caught in his throat. Eventually, the teen muttered something under his breath.

"Hmmm. Do speak up boy I'm afraid I can't hear you." The man impatiently tapped his fingers on the head of his cane, the head of which was in the shape of a crystal skull.

"Well, on-only students are a-a-allowed to be in the stands at this ti-ti-time. Any un-unauthorized persons are to report to the main sec-security office." The student had clearly rehearsed a script verbatim yet was clearly experiencing some difficulty due to nerves. Gulping, the teen pulled at his collar to take a breath. The teen couldn't put a finger on it, but he felt as if there was something…innately wrong with the man in front of him. "I-I need to see your identification card."

"Now see, that wasn't so hard to say, was it?" A wide smile had formed across the man's face. However, there was something…off about it. The smile looked far too wide, too large, and, this may have been a trick of the light, but the man's teeth almost appeared to end in points. Paired with the catlike eyes, it did not paint a pretty picture of the strange man's face. This did little to calm the poor teen's nerves, who was practically sweating bullets at this point.

"Unfortunately, I do not have my 'identification card' on me at the time. I am only here to collect a…service that I am owed." The man turned on his dress shoes and turned to walk to the top of the stairwell to exit the stands. Before leaving, the man turned once more to look back at the teen. "Of course, I'll still be poking my head in time and time again to make sure my deal is being fulfilled. But don't worry, as long as you don't bother me or my…client, I think we can get along rather well. Don't you agree?" With that the man began to walk down the stairwell.

The young security officer blinked in confusion for a couple of minutes, processing the odd conversation. Against all better judgement, most likely due to a sudden surge of bravery, the teen rushed to the top of the stair well. "HEY!"

The man had barely crossed the first stairwell, before looking up at the officer with a cold, stern expression on his face. The strange, unblinking catlike eyes remained fixated on the officer, as if peering into the teen's soul itself. A cold shiver ran through the teen's body as his courage seemed to drain away.

"Uh, well, I, uh…" The poor teen fumbled for words, trying to string along a basic sentence. "Ca-can you at le-least give me your name, please?"

A long, tense silence lingered between the two before the man finally answered: "Mephisto."

"Me…Mephisto" The rookie officer blinked in confusion at the odd sounding name. Trying to regain control of the situation, the student shook his head and cleared his throat. "And, uh, Mr. Mephisto, what exactly-"

The novice officer turned his head to look back at the man, only to find the spot where the man stood was empty. Rushing over to the stairwell, the officer looked down the long rectangular spiral of stairs for the mysterious man, but there was no-one there. For it appeared that the man known as Mephisto had disappeared off the face of the Earth.

* * *

To say that Speed's first day at the Racing Academy had been interesting would be an understatement. For his entire life, Speed had grown up as one of many kids at the Klepto Orphange for Young Children. When Speed got the acceptance letter from the Racing Academy, he was ecstatic; his dream at becoming a race car driver was becoming a reality. The Qualifier Race had been much harder than anticipated, yet despite the odds Speed managed to complete it. Then there was his post-race 'conversation' with X; in all honesty, it had been X that had blown things out of proportion. But that wasn't the issue that Speed was worried about at the moment. The problem was that Speed had basically destroyed the one available car at the Academy. And without a car, Speed's days at the Academy were shortly numbered.

"Our car situation is still a major problem." Conor paced around the dorm with a worried look on his face.

"Yeah," Lucy commented from her spot next to Speed. "But what are we going to do about it?"

Fortunately for Speed, he had help in trying to find a solution to his 'car troubles': Conor and Lucy. Conor was Speed's new roommate and a self-proclaimed Speed Racer fanboy; their entire dorm was filled with Speed Racer memorabilia. Additionally, Conor himself was dressed in Speed Racer's original outfit: black racing boots, white pants, and blue shirt with red bandanna. Really the only physical difference between Conor and the young Speed Racer was Conor's bright orange hair. Although Conor was not a racer, he apparently made for a skilled mechanic and inventor. One such invention was seated right next to Speed: Chim-Chim, a robotic monkey who was currently playing with a pair of Speed's socks. Lucy, on the other hand, was much more down-to-earth in terms of personality. Lucy's attire consisted of a simple blue mechanic jumpsuit. She had a dark complexion and her black hair kept into a short buzz cut. While Lucy also possessed excellent mechanic skills like Conor, she was also an amazing strategist. Regardless of the situation, Lucy was always forming a plan or technique of some kind. Despite knowing the two for less than a day, Speed already considered the two his closest friends (even if Lucy came across as a bit bossy and Conor was…well…Conor).

"I'm too wiped out to think about that right now." Speed head collapsed into his hands, the events of the day leaving him exhausted. "I'm just running on instinct."

"Instinct can only get you so far in a race Speed," an unknown voice chimed in. The entire group jumped up and turned to the source of the voice. It was Headmaster Spritle, who entered the dorm completely unnoticed. "Of course, without a car, you're not going to get much of an education."

"I was thinking the same thing sir," Speed said with a smile growing on his face.

"Well, then come with me." With that, Headmaster Spritle urged the trio to come with him. The group continued to follow Headmaster Spritle until they stopped at the Academy junkyard. The junkyard contained a wide variety of items: pieces of broken cars, miscellaneous scrap metal, and other trash. But, according to Headmaster Spritle, there may be a working car or two buried somewhere in the piles.

"Normally, I wouldn't do this, Speed," Headmaster Spritle said as he turned to look at Speed. "But you impressed me with your performance today. I'm expecting great things from you. Don't let me down."

"I won't." Speed stated, determination shown in the young teen's eyes.

Headmaster Spritle gave a warm smile and placed his hand on the junkyard handscanner (which was implemented to ward off wayward scavengers). In a few minutes, the thick metallic junkyard door began to ascend.

"Be careful in there, boys." Headmaster Spritle stated, an aura of authority surrounding the man. "Lucy, I expect you to keep them out of trouble".

"I will sir." Lucy said, giving an aside glance to Conor and Chim-Chim. Both eccentric inventor and robot monkey gave a confused look to each other, while Conor tried to play innocent with an awkward smile.

With that, Headmaster Spritle had left the group to search through the junkyard.

The trio began to spread out to search the various piles for any sign of a car. However, the group's earlier energy soon faded as the search continued. Most of the intact cars where missing crucial components or beyond fixing; finding a working car was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Not to mention the group was getting exhausted, as it was getting close to midnight.

At some point, Chim-Chim began inspecting a small gear cog. This action trigged a small junk avalanche, burying the startled robot monkey. Fortunately, Chim-Chim managed to climb his way to the top of the collapsed trash and emerged completely unscathed.

"Don't you think it's kinda weird?" Conor asked as he attempted to pull Chim-Chim out of the junk rubble.

"What?" Speed said, tossing aside yet another piece of scrap metal.

Conor had finally pulled Chim-Chim from the trash, the robot monkey running off to another nearby junk-pile. "What do you mean what? The key, the bandanna, Speed Racer's signature move." Conor listed, holding up three fingers. "Three coincidences in a row?"

"You're crazy." Speed pulled out the red bandanna, which was similar to the one worn by Speed Racer. The bandanna in question had been left with Speed when he was dropped off at the orphanage as a baby. "They sell these Speed Racer bandannas all over the place."

Conor opened his mouth to say something, only to suddenly stop. Instead, Conor stood slack-jawed, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. Speed tilted his head in confusion, which allowed for him to see what Conor was looking at: his chest was glowing a bright green color.

"Huh?" said Speed, which was the only thing Speed could say at the bizarre sight.

Lucy, who overheard the entire conversation, came rushing onto the scene. "What's that?"

Feeling something vibrating on his chest, Speed reached into his shirt to pull out the object: it was his key. A key (which again, was modeled after the late Speed Racer's) that was the second item found on baby Speed when he arrived at the orphanage. "Ok. That's weird!"

Lucy stared at the key completely dumbfounded, her brain trying to make sense of the situation. "Your key is humming-"

"And glowing," Conor said, finishing Lucy's sentence.

The trio continued to stare at the key with looks of confusion, when it suddenly flashed a bright blinding light. When the light cleared, a large green grid pattern of squares had formed on the junkyard ground. Most of the squares were blank, while others had red lines through them.

"Whoa," said Speed, completely dumbfounded at the strange ability of his otherwise ordinary key.

"Cool!" Conor looked around the junkyard with stars in his eyes, completely oblivious to the weirdness of the situation. "It's a 3-Dimensional Holographic Projection!"

As Speed's eyes darted around the grid, he noticed that the grid appeared to have a pattern to it. "I think it's some kind of map." Speed pointed to the red-lined squares spread out along the grid. "See the red markings?"

Indeed, the red squares did not appear to be randomly placed on the grid formation. Rather, they appeared to be connected to one another, forming three separate pathways. Without a second thought, the trio split up to follow the winding paths.

At some point, Lucy had reached the end of her trail and saw the final red square covered by a rusted car door. "Conor," Lucy called over to the orange-haired teen (who had just gotten himself unstuck from a metal pipe). "Help me with this."

The two teens lifted the heavy car door, uncovering a large brown rat. Conor emitted a high-pitched scream at the sight of the creature and dropped the car door. The rat flinched as it avoided the piece of scrap metal before scurrying off into the night.

"What's wrong with you?" Lucy sighed at Conor, who had jumped into her arms to avoid the rat.

"I wish I knew," Conor moaned.

Meanwhile, once Speed had reached the end of his trail, the glow of his key had chance to a bright red color. Somehow (be it gut or instinct), Speed could tell that he had reached…whatever he was supposed to find.

"Hey, guys?" Speed called out to get his friends attention.

Lucy dropped Conor and the two began walking to Speed's location. Speed continued to yank off pieces of scrap metal, before coming across a white object. The object was a smooth white car hood covered with a few layers of dirt and grim. However, the most defining feature of was a large red "M" in the center.

"No way!" Lucy stared at the car hood slack jawed.

Conor, on the other hand, was nearly hyperventilating and waving his arms widely struggling to contain his excitement. "That's part of the Mach 5! That's-"

"Speed Racer's car!" Speed exclaimed. Not only had they found a working car, but one that belonged to a living legend. A car that would allow Speed to achieve his goal of being a racer. For the group, it seemed as though luck was finally on their side. After all, it's not like anything bad could happen?

* * *

_Meanwhile, somewhere out in the Arizona Desert…_

Ted Jones rubbed his eyes and took another sip of his coffee in an attempt to stay awake. Ted had been scheduled to take the night shift due to his buddy Mark calling in sick. Turning his head, Ted read the lone motivational poster for what felt like the billionth time which read "Roxxon Oil Company: A Company that treats its employees with the respect they deserve!"

The Roxxon Oil Company was one of the wealthiest oil corporations in the world, with multiple international drilling sites. Granted there were other companies that could rival Roxxon in terms of wealth and power, such as Zazic Industries, but as some Roxxon spokesperson would say "The Roxxon Oil Company is leaps and bounds above any other oil company". Though this claim wasn't simple propaganda, as Roxxon did indeed possess technology that their competition could only dream of obtaining.

Case in point: a large drill that was moving ten times the speed of a normal drill and was capable of withstanding Earth's extreme pressures. Additionally, the drill had an "energy canon" (it had some long official name, but Ted just called it an energy canon) that would essentially blast through any rock or substance that stood in the way of oil.

The drill in question happened to be the focus of Ted's job. The job itself wasn't so hard: just monitor the drill status levels and make sure the whole place didn't go boom. The control booth Ted was sitting in gave a perfect overview of the drill hole. Really, it was a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, the job itself was monotonous, which was yet another factor that threatened to take Ted off to dreamland. Ted almost fell asleep in his hand, before his hand slipped causing Ted to slam his head onto the metallic desk. "OW!" Ted nursed his injured head. After a few minutes, Ted got up from his chair and walked out of the control room. "I need a freaking ice pack."

Ted's footsteps echoed through the empty hallways. The Roxxon Oil Company was truly massive, with multiple levels and hallways. During the day shift, these hallways would be filled with employees constantly walking past each other. With the efficiency of its workers, Roxxon functioned akin to an ant colony in terms of productivity. Night was a different story, as the once busy and active complex now stood still and silent. Despite enjoying the quiet, Ted was slightly unnerved by the lack of people. Though Ted felt some brief comfort whenever he passed by the occasional janitor and other night shift worker. After navigating the maze of corridors and doorways, Ted had finally made it to the company lunchroom.

"Hate the night shift." Ted grumbled, reaching into the fridge pulled out a lone ice pack and placed it on his head. "Too bad I can't get worker's compensation for this."

"Why are you not at your post?" An unknown voice chimed in, right next to Ted's ear.

Jumping back, Ted turned to look to his left and stood face to face with one of Roxxon's many security guards. The guard in question was wearing black camo gear, with a black helmet obscuring his face, and was carrying a large rifle. In all honesty, Ted thought that the guards at Roxxon Oil Company both looked and worked more like a private military force than regular security guards.

' _None of your business.'_ Ted thought but made sure to hold his tongue. Instead, Ted turned to the security guard and put on his best poker face. "Oh, I hit my head. I was just getting an ice pack was all," Ted said as he gave an honest smile, which accented the wrinkles on his face. The security guard remained motionless, any emotion hidden behind the black helmet.

' _Are these guys really human?'_ Ted pondered to himself.

"Understood. But you are required to return to your post immediately." The security guard stated in a cold, analytical tone.

Ted wanted to tell the guard to shove it. Instead, Ted responded with a cordial, "Of course sir."

As Ted walked back to his post, he turned his head slightly, noting that the security guard was now following him. If it was any other person, Ted would simply shout at them to get lost. But Ted, and the rest of his coworkers, knew better than to confront a Roxxon security officer. They all had top military training and could subdue a person in roughly ten seconds. Eventually, Ted made it back to the drill console, while his 'new friend' had seemed to make shop right next to the console door.

_'Looks like I have a babysitter for the night. Great.'_ Ted mentally sighed as he slumped back into his chair. Ted glanced at the monitor screen, prepared to see the same old readings, only to blink in confusion at the sight of a yellow warning label on the screen. The label read in large black letters: IMPASSIBLE SURFACE AHEAD. _'Guess tonight might actually be pretty eventful.'_ Ted cracked his knuckles, before pushing up the energy cannon lever an hitting the emission button.

The cannon sent out a energy pulse, which should be enough to destroy whatever was obstructing the drill. Ted gave a slight smile, which quickly dissipated when he noticed that the yellow label had not gone away.

Ted's mouth shifted to a frown as he scratched his slightly greying hair. Normally, when the drill delivered an energy pulse, the drill would then usually continue. Not sure what else to do, Ted cranked up the voltage of the energy cannon and fired again. Yet again, the yellow label continued to stay on the screen. Small beads of sweat began to form on Ted's face, which he quickly wiped off. The last setting on the cannon was listed as "Maximum", which was not to be activated on the cannon unless the action received higher approval.

' _Screw it. I mean, what's the worst that can happen._ ' Ted cracked the voltage up to maximum, the resulting blast producing a slight tremor. Fortunately, this seemed to have done the trick, as the yellow warning label went away for roughly five seconds. In those five seconds, business went as usually. Then everything went wrong as a new label flashed across the monitor screen.

Now the label was flashing bright red, reading WARNING: UNKNOWN ENERGY LEVELS DETECTED. The message only stayed on screen for a few minutes before the console went dark. This was shortly followed by the rest of the facility, as the lights went out one by one, plunging the entire building into darkness. It was at this moment that Ted knew, he messed up.

There was currently only one thought going through Ted's head during this situation: _'Oh shit.'_

A loud knocking on the console room door completely disrupted Ted's thoughts. The security guard stood at the door.

"What happened?" the guard demanded; his previously stoic tone now filled with anger.

Ted was about to answer, when suddenly the darkness was soon banished by an otherworldly red glow. Ted had assumed that the emergency lights had activated. However, there was something…off about the light. It was far too bright, and the light appeared to be pulsating in intensity. Looking out the console windows, Ted realized that the red light wasn't coming from the facility lights. Rather, it was coming from the depths of the drill hole.

An ear-splitting screech quickly broke the tense silence, as Ted turned his head quickly to see the security guard get dragged out of the room by some…thing. Ted didn't get to see what it was, but he knew it wasn't human. It had been far too tall, and its limbs were extremely long and bent at all the wrong angles. All the while, the security guards panicked screams faded as he was dragged into the shadows.

With his heart threatening to burst out of his chest and blood pumping, Ted sprinted out of the console room. In a state of pure panic, Ted dove behind a small cluster of crates, remaining hidden from the thing. After a few moments of catching his breath, Ted tentatively peaked his head from around his hiding spot; Ted soon wished he hadn't. Through his limited vision, Ted could see the shadows of the horrid…creatures as they poured out of the drill hole.

Some of the creatures looked humanoid, while others appeared completely inhuman. One by one they crawled out of the hole, joining the previous creatures in some creepy twisted dance. An eerie noise, which sounding akin to high pitched squealing and screaming, had begun to echo throughout the facility. However, the noise didn't sound angry, but rather jovial. It dawned on Ted that the creatures were _laughing_.

Shaking uncontrollably and drenched in cold sweat, Ted's mind was on overdrive. ' _WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoI-'_

" ** _GRRRRRRR"_**

Ted's thoughts came to a freezing halt, before turning his head to see a thi-, no, a _monster_ , standing above him. The beast stood eight feet tall, was built like an ox, and had piercing, glowing red eyes. Ted let out a terrified scream, the last thing he saw being the monster's terrifying maw of teeth closing around his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the end of the chapter; enjoy a virtual cookie.
> 
> Also, this is the last chapter I have pre-written. This means that it will be a long time before the next chapter upload. I'll try to update regularly, but it may take awhile depending on my schedule. The story has only just begun. 
> 
> Stay tuned true believers.


	4. Emerging Rivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise on the First Day of class leads Speed and X to butt heads on the Virtual Track. Annalise plots with her father to get rid of Speed. Far off in the mountains, dark forces converge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone.
> 
> I hope that you all have been staying healthy. So sorry about the delay with this chapter. It took a long time to write. I hope that you all enjoy it.

It was the first day of classes and in all honesty the day could not be any slower. For the most part, each class consisted of the Professor introducing themselves and giving out syllabuses. To X it got boring real fast, but at least the teachers weren’t giving out homework on the first day. Then came Professor Anaskov’s class, which was the complete opposite. Once the class started, he immediately gave the class their first assignment: practicing offensive driving against a series of obstacles in the Virtual Track (and their first test would be the next day). When each student finished, Professor Anaskov criticized them for even the smallest of faults. This included the current student in front of him.

“Terrible, Larry. Just terrible.” Professor Anaskov chided the student in front of him. The student named Larry stood sheepishly in front of the class with his glasses askew and covered in ash (it was a miracle that he managed to pass the Qualifier Race). “Can anyone tell me what he did wrong?”

“Being born,” Annalise snarked with a small smirk on her face.

The ‘funny joke’ sent Jared and Jesse into fits of hysterical laughter.

X gave the two laughing twins an aside glance. _‘Wow. Harsh much.’_

“Thank you, Ms. Zazic.” Professor Anaskov groaned, before turning his attention to the rest of the class. “Now does anyone have something useful to say?”

For a long while, either because the students didn’t know the answer or were intimidated by the stern teacher, no one answer Professor Anaskov’s question. As the silence lingered, the scowl on Professor Anaskov’s face deepened. That was until the quiet was broken when a voice chimed in.

“Hey X!” Jared pointed wildly off to the distance. “Isn’t that the Mach 5!”

Apparently, Jared and Jesse had the fun idea of pulling a “First Day Prank”, and this was the idea that the two had come up with. X groaned. “Oh wow. Very original Jared. A+ comedy material right there.”

“Hey look!” Now Jesse was apparently getting in on the action. “It’s the Mach 5!”

“Ok really, it wasn’t funny the first time!” X barked at the troublesome duo. Though this time X was less annoyed at the twins’ attempt at a joke and more concerned with the stink eye Professor Anaskov was giving X’s group (X was really hoping to not get detention on the first day, _especially_ with Professor Anaskov).

“Knock it of you-” Annalise shouted, turning her head to where the twins’ were pointing. “Oh my God it is the Mach 5!”

That got X’s attention, as unlike Jared and Jesse, Annalise was far less prone to making cases of mistaken identity. Turning his head, X’s jaw drop. Driving towards the class was, indeed, the Mach 5. Once the car came to a stop, the driver exited the vehicle: it was Speed. Not X’s father Speed Racer, but new kid Speed. Speed, the guy who shared the same name as X’s father, the guy who claimed one of the original Speed Racer’s signature moves as his own, and the guy who was now _driving the_ _Mach 5_.

The students went wild and rushed over to the Mach 5, while Professor Anaskov formally walked over to address Speed. As the rest of the students were cheering and engaging in excited conversations with each other, X could only stare slack jawed. X subtly pinched his arm to make sure he was not dreaming; he felt pain, so definitely not dreaming.

“That’s so not cool, X.” Annalise chimed in, pulling X back into reality. “Are you just gonna let him get away with driving your dad’s car?”

 _‘Of course not Captain Obvious,’_ X wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut as 1) part of him was still processing seeing his _dad’s_ car being driven by that darn new kid and 2) he knew saying something like that would most likely set Annalise off.

“I wouldn’t let that kid drive my mom’s scooter.” Jesse sneered.

“Mom’s scooter is awesome.” Jared said, the meaning of the insult flying completely overhead.

“I know,” Jesse replied, as the twins’ conversation had completely derailed from the original topic (which was not uncommon for the duo). “It’s pink with those cool ribbons on the handlebars.”

“I love those.” Jared stated enthusiastically.

At this point, X’s pent up frustration finally boiled over. “Knock it off!” X shouted at the twins, before glaring over at Speed. “Believe me, Speedy and I are gonna have a long talk.”

After today there was **_no way_** that Speed kid would be keeping his dad’s car.

* * *

“What do you mean you are going to let him keep it!” X shouted, staring dumbfounded at his Uncle.

After Professor Anaskov’s class, X went to confront Speed about the Mach 5. However, before X could make his move an announcement on the PA system asking for Speed to come to the Headmaster’s office. At first, X was annoyed that he didn’t get to speak to Speed, but then it dawned on him. X didn’t even need to speak to Speed; his Uncle would probably handle the whole situation. So, at the end of the school day, X had gone to Spritle to ask when they would get the Mach 5 back. Spritle, on the other hand, apparently had a different view on the issue. It only took roughly five minutes for the conversation to go south.

“X. Listen to me.” Spritle stated, apparently ready to give out another lecture, which was really starting to get on X’s nerves. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but Speed is a good driver too. Speed doesn’t have a car of his own, and I gave him permission to get one.”

X blinked, processing his uncle’s words. “You what.”

Realizing he may have worded that last sentence incorrectly, Spritle attempted to backpedal a bit. “X-”

“You gave him _dad’s_ car!” X’s feelings of hurt and betrayal shown evidently in his eyes.

“No, X.” Spritle took on a more authoritative tone to address his nephew. “I did not give Speed the Mach 5. I allowed Speed to go into the junkyard and pick out a working car. As unlikely as it is, that working car just so happened to be the Mach 5.”

“Riiiight. Speed’s new car ‘just so happened’ to be the Mach 5 and he ‘just so happened’ to find it in the Academy junkyard, right next to the Holy Grail and Thor’s magic hammer.” X said with bitter sarcasm in his voice, getting up from his chair. “Seriously do you even hear yourself right now!”

“X-” Spritle got up from his seat and reached out towards X.

“Forget it! If you’re not going to do something, then I will.” X stomped over towards the door.

“X wait!” Spritle called out, but X had already slammed the office door behind him, terminating the conversation.

* * *

_Elsewhere, in the Superstition Mountain Range…_

The Superstition Mountains stretched throughout the Arizona terrain. Legends about the mountain range have arisen over several years, from a hidden gold mine to the sightings of strange specters. Scattered throughout the mountain range were a series of caves. One such cave remained quiet and still against the afternoon sky.

That was until a rat had poked its head in and began sniffing around. This rat looked like a normal rat…except for the fact that the rat was human sized, had claws like daggers, and teeth like serrated knives. 

“Alright.” The large rat commented; its ability to speak was yet another feature that made it different from a normal rat. “This place looks good-”

“Finally!” A figure, using a trench coat as a makeshift hood, shoved the rat aside (and stepped on its tail, causing the rat to yelp in pain) and rushed in the cave. The individual adjusted their jacket, revealing a man with pale skin, white hair, and solid black eyes. The figure hugged the darkest corner of the cave. “Sweet! Sweet! Darkness!”

Nursing an injured tail, the large rat glared at the strange looking man. “Of course, a place like this would be suitable for someone like _you_ Blackout.”

The individual named Blackout looked at the rat with a malicious smirk. “Well I don’t know.” Blackout strode forward and pointed a finger into the rat’s chest. “If I’m going to be honest, I think this place is actually perfect for you _Vermin_.”

“It’s _Verminous Rex_ you ingrate!” The large rat roared in Blackout’s face. 

Blackout did not flinch at Verminous Rex’s outburst. “Well someone here has rat-breath,” Blackout said as he pinched his nose and waved his free hand in front of his face.

“Fang-face!”

“Fleabag!”

“Dracula poser!”

“Plague carrier!”

As the two continued to bicker, other figures soon began to enter the cave. One looked like a teen girl with long blonde hair tied into a red bow and wearing what looked like a Japanese sailor fuku. However, her body was entirely disproportional. The “girl’s” limbs were long and lanky, and her torso was extremely narrow like a pencil. Perhaps the most unsettling feature was her face which was sunken in and angular. Additionally, the “girl’s face had a pair of oversized lips as well as eyes twice the size of a normal person.

“Awww!” The “girl” stomped her foot and crossed her slender arms. “There’s no creatures in here!”

“Perfect,” another individual responded with a raspy voice. The individual wore a dark purple ratty hood which covered most of its body. The skin that was visible was covered in a series of bandages. A long centipede was coiled around the figure’s hands. “We enjoy the solitude.”

“Ooooh~” Skinbender’s eyes somehow widened even larger, nearly taking up her entire face. Her bony fingers reached out to the centipede. “Not exactly fleshy~. But I could still-”

“NO!” The hooded figure pulled back the centipede, glaring at the girl with pitch-black eyes. “We do not require your assistance in our appearance, _Skinbender._ ”

“But Kinny, he’s so tiny~.” Skinbender whined, her mouth twisted into a distorted pout. “I could make him better for you.”

“We are Kindred.” The demon retorted. “And as for this singular one, _she_ is perfectly fine the way she is.”

“Pweety Pwease~” Skinbender’s said with a puppy dog eyes, which on her face looked positively disturbing.

“No.” Kindred turned to walk further into the cave, with Skinbender following and continuing to pester him all the while.

Meanwhile, more unusual individuals continued to enter the cave. One of these individuals wore baggy clothes and had a burlap sack over its head. The individual in question looked an awful lot like a scarecrow, which happened to be his name. 

“Thanks for the lift, Highwayman!” Scarecrow said to a person behind him. Said person had pale skin and was wearing a black and red cowboy suit, a black cowboy hat, and had an eyepatch over his right eye. 

“Say, I’m short on dough at the moment.” Scarecrow turned his pant pockets inside out, revealing them to be empty. “Do you think you can give me a freebie for your little taxi service?”

“Bessie is _not_ a taxi service.” The Highwayman gritted his teeth, nearly shattering them. “Not to mention I don’t enjoy having you pop out in front of my face _while I’m **driving**!”_

“What? You looked tense.” Scarecrow twisted his torso in a corkscrew fashion, as if to illustrate his point. “Nothing a little scare couldn’t fix.”

“Listen up, punk!” The Highwayman roared as he got right up in Scarecrow’s face. “You try something like that again and I’ll introduce you to Bessie’s eighteen wheels!” The Highwayman glared at the contortionist demon with his one red eye.

“Oooh really! HAHAHAHA! Can you introduce me too?” An unknown individual cheerful voice chimed in. 

The individual in question chose to make a rather unique entrance, which involved doing a mid-air summersault and landing in front of the two demons. This newcomer appeared to be some sort of jester, as he wore a full-cover yellow and purple bodysuit. A twisted smile formed on the newcomer’s face. This was the demon known as Madcap. 

“Oh not you right now.” The Highwayman groaned. “As if I haven’t had to deal with your incessant chatter for the entire damned ride here.”

Madcap, still with a smile on his face, wrapped his arm around the Highwayman’s shoulder. “Come on, we had a bonding moment. HAHAHAHAHA! You let me ride shotgun in ol’Bessie.”

“What _happened_ ,” The Highwayman said as he yanked off Madcap’s arms and violently shoved the other demon to the ground. “Is that you shot _several holes_ into Bessie’s sides while riding a shotgun like _a hobby horse_.”

“Like I said, fun times,” said Madcap as he attempted to get up from the ground. However, Madcap was prevented from doing so by something thick and sticky on the cave floor. Head tilted in confusion, Madcap turned his head to the ground to see a thick black liquid pooled around his hand and feet.

“Is there really any meaning?” A deep, echoey voice questioned, the noise of which appeared to originate from the liquid. The black liquid slowly flowed into the cave to the center where the trio were standing. An object slowly rose to the surface of the black liquid. It was a pristine white mask with black eyeholes. “Why are we here?” The voice asked, the lips on the white mask not moving.

“Oh chin up Wallow.” Madcap chuckled, not the least perturbed by the black liquid that was holding his limbs hostage. “I’ll tell you why we are here, but you gotta get in _real_ close okay.”

Wallow remained still for a few minutes, before his mask slowly rose upward, until it was face to face with the laughing demon. “What?”

 _“THIS!”_ In a split-second, Madcap pulled out a small pistol-like gun in the demon’s face and pulled the trigger.

Despite the pistol’s small size, Wallow was sent flying backwards and splattered against the cave wall. Madcap and Scarecrow were sent into roaring fits of laughter, while the Highwayman merely groaned at their antics.

“This day can’t get any worse.” The Highwayman grumbled.

“FIRE IN THE HOLE!” A new voice called out.

“What the-” The Highwayman scowled, before his eyes widened. “OH CRAP MOVE!”

Before anyone could do anything, a round object went flying into the cave, where it exploded into flames. As the flames roared, the sound of crazed laughter filled the cave. 

“Jack!” The Highwayman growled at the fire; his earlier surprise replaced with unbridled rage. “WHAT. THE ACTUAL. HELL!”

“What?” A voice questioned as the fire slowly shrunk down in size. The fire continued to get smaller until it was contained in the original thrown object: a pumpkin with a carved Jack O’Lantern face. “I thought this place could use a little _excitement_.” The pumpkin’s carved mouth twisted into a wicked smile.

“HAHAHAHA! That was fun!” Madcap laughed wildly, soot and ash covering his jumpsuit. “Can you do that again please!”

“Absolutely!” Flames began to pour out of the pumpkin.

 _“NO!”_ The Highwayman roared at the two demons, not willing to put up with any more craziness. Fortunately for the Highwayman’s sanity, Madcap’s short attention span was quickly diverted to another part of the cave (apparently, Scarecrow was now using his pitchfork to poke at Wallow, who was slowly oozing off the cave wall).

Turning back to the pumpkin, the Highwayman realized that there was a crucial part of the demon missing. “Jack, where is your body?”

As soon as the words left the Highwayman’s mouth, a large monstrous creature jumped into the cave. The creature was roughly over six feet tall and covered with shaggy reddish-brown fur. Its overall appearance was like that of a werewolf. The creature’s large maw possessed a row of razor-sharp fangs, which were currently clamped down on a headless body. Specifically, Jack O’Lantern’s headless body.

“Ah come on Crimson really!” Jack O’Lantern’s lone head shouted from the cave floor. “I just had that outfit cleaned too!”

The wolf demon didn’t pay the talking pumpkin any mind and continued to gnash on the headless body like a chew-toy.

“Crimson Claw, you’ve had your fun. Now drop it,” said The Highwayman to the oversized beast. While the Highwayman could care less about Jack O’Lantern, he strived to maintain authority (or at very least not have to deal with more insane antics).

“ _GRRRRRR_ ” The large wolf creature growled at the unholy trucker.

_THWACK!_

The Highwayman slapped the wolf-like demon across the snout, causing it to whimper.

“Zip it furball.” The Highwayman snapped. “Drop. The. Body.”

Crimson Claw glared at the Highwayman with sickly yellow eyes. The beast used its jaws to toss Jack O’Lantern’s headless body against the cave wall, which landed in a crumpled heap. The body clumsily rose to its hands and knees and began searching for its missing head.

At the same time, another demon entered the cave. Out of the entire group, this demon looked the closest to a normal human. He was wearing a red jumpsuit with blue stripes; he also had a pair of white gloves and boots. However, there was one key detail that differentiated this demon from a normal person. Instead of a head, the demon had a singular large eyeball attached to its neck. 

The eyeball demon picked up the pumpkin and held it within an inch of its large eyeball.

“Heeeeey, Orb.” Jack O’Lantern nervously chuckled, clearly uncomfortable with the other demon’s disregard for personal space. “Ca-can you just reattach my head to my body, please?”

The eyeball headed demon continued to stare intensely at the pumpkin. After a few quiet moments, the Orb walked over to Jack O’Lantern’s headless body and slammed the pumpkin down. A series of squishing noises came from the large eyeball, which is apparently how the Orb spoke.

All the while, Crimson Claw crept up behind the Orb, drool dripping from his dagger-like teeth.

“Orb...smell nice” The wolf demon said with a noticeable growl in his voice. “Orb…yummy...Orb fo-”

The Orb turned on a dime to stare directly at the large beast, which caused Crimson Claw to shrink back in fear.

“Back off you oversized carpet!” Jack O’Lantern rotated his head (the Orb had put it on backwards) to face Crimson Claw. “We ain’t your dinner!”

“Long...trip. No...meat. No...eating. Claw... _hungry_. Claw...need...food.” Crimson Claw struggled to annunciate his words through thick growls.

“Oh, well I can get you some food big guy,” Said Jack O’Lantern disconnected his pumpkin head, as an intense fire began to pour out of his eyes. “How would you feel about some pumpkin with _A SIDE OF FLAMES_!”

The Orb responded with a series of excited squelches, apparently excited to see the ensuing carnage.

“No one is setting any more fires in here!” The Highwayman got in between the two feuding demons, attempting to prevent the cave from suffering any more structural damage.

A loud cacophony of conversations and arguments continued to sound throughout the cave system, with no perceivable end in sight.

_THUD!_

The demons’ attention was drawn to a large figure at the entrance of the cave. The figure was a good twelve feet tall, had dark red skin, and one-foot horns extending from his head. This was Lucifer, an arch-demon of great power and rival to Mephisto. Lucifer slowly strode into the cave until he was standing upon a small bolder.

 **“Now do you know-”** the large demon was cut off by loud background noise in the corner of the cave. Blackout and Verminous Rex had stopped using words in their argument and instead devolved to growling and hissing at each other. **“Verminous Rex! Blackout! End your nonsense and get over here!”**

Blackout and Verminous Rex gave each other one last glare before joining the group of other demons.

 **“Now, do you all know why we are here?”** Lucifer questioned.

“Oh. That’s an easy one,” said Jack O’Lantern as he detached his pumpkin head and started spinning it. “We got out of the portal and got into this shiny metal building and killed some unlucky souls. And then we got to another abandoned wooden building, which made such a _beautiful_ fire. And then we came to this place-” At this point, Jack O’Lantern’s detached head started to produce excessive amounts of flame. “Which I think could use some more fire-” 

**“No, not that. And Jack O’Lantern you are not setting _anything_ in here on fire!” **Lucifer sternly stared down at Jack O’Lantern, who dejectedly put back on his pumpkin-head and extinguished his flames. Sighing, Lucifer once again addressed the group. **“Do any of you know why we are here _in the mortal realm_?”**

“To stab the fear outta people!” Scarecrow brandished his pitchfork (which appeared to spawn out of nowhere) with a malicious grin.

“To twist flesh and bone!” Skinbender fidgeted her spindly fingers in anticipation.

“Uh...Food?” Crimson Claw tilted his head, scratching it with a clawed finger.

The Orb answered with a series of squelching noises, causing the group to nervously stare at the eyeball headed humanoid.

 **“No, no, no, and Orb, just-just no.”** Lucifer stared at the eyeball headed demon with a grossed-out expression. Shaking his head, Lucifer addressed the small crowd of demons with a wicked smile upon his face. **“We are after something much greater than all that. Something with raw, untapped power. Something that will allow us to rule this realm. Something that will bring Mephisto to his knees. We are here for THE CONTRACT OF SAN VENGANZA!”** Lucifer shouted triumphantly.

However, the group did not jump in twisted glee at the mention of the contract. Rather, they just blankly stared at Lucifer.

 **“The contract of a thousand evil souls!”** Lucifer again shouted, trying to keep the earlier energy of his speech alive.

Again, no response from the group of demons. Somewhere in the cave, the sound of crickets resonated.

Lucifer facepalmed. **“The thing that Mephisto won’t shut up about.”**

Mummers of recognition arose from the demons at the mention of that last detail.

“Oh yeah! That little thing. HAHAHAHAHA.” Madcap chuckled wildly. “Good ol’ Mephy loves talking about that sheet of paper. I mean, everyone must love paper. There’s coloring paper, tax paper, blood paper, and-” 

Madcap was interrupted when Lucifer reached out and covered the demon’s mouth and threatened to crush the demon’s head.

 **“Yes,** **_that_.**” Lucifer groaned, removing his hand from Madcap (who continued to quietly laugh in the background) before resuming his speech. **“Once night arrives, we will begin our search to-”**

“Why do we need to wait for night?” Verminous Rex gave an aside leer at a certain vampire-like demon. “Unlike some of us here, we don’t faint at the first sign of sunlight.”

Blackout shot a death glare at the large rat. “Well I don’t scream at the sight of a mortal cat, you oversized mouse!”

“What was that, you emo-Twilight wannabe!” Verminous Rex brandished his claws, ready to pounce.

“You heard me rat-face!” Blackout hissed, the veins around his eyes turning black, his hands becoming filled with shadows.

Before the two could trade blows, a large fist slammed down between the two.

 **“ENOUGH!”** Lucifer’s voice boomed around the cave, his fist shockwaves causing the cave to shake. Once the shaking had stopped, Lucifer had managed to regain his composure. **“A night-time search is most affective as to not draw unwanted attention to our…physical appearance. While these pesky mortals hold no threat, they may prove to be a hinderance. Do I make _myself_ clear?”**

Whispers of disgruntled agreement rang out amongst the group of demons.

 **“Good.”** Lucifer stared down at the demons with an aura of dark authority. **“Now find some place to rest till nightfall. And no leaving unless _I_ say so!”**

With that, the demons slithered off into the many tunnels of the cave system.

“Aren’t you worried?” A sultry female voice questioned.

Lucifer turned to look at a demon who had silently entered the cave. The demon was female with black and red leathery skin. Instead of hair, long red thorny tendrils were growing from her scalp. Her blue eyes remained fixed on Lucifer.

“Mephisto is not one to be messed with.” The she-demon chided, crossing her thorn laden arms. “You do realize that there will be consequences.”

 **“Oh Blackrose. Truly, you humor me.”** Lucifer chuckled at the she-demon. **“Mephisto has let himself go, relying so much on his own realm for power. There’s no way he could intervene without alerting the angels.”**

“Still though, Mephisto is smarter than you think.” The tendrils began to coil around Blackrose’s body as she strode forward. “It’s likely that he has already formed a plan.”

 **“Like Mephisto can actually stand up against me.”** Lucifer boasted, flexing his arm muscles. **“I’d like to see him send his best fighter to stop _me.”_**

Blackrose continued to stare at the large red demon, before walking into one of the cave tunnels. Lucifer watched the demoness leave before looking on at the afternoon sky; a sky he was sure to turn red once he gained the contract of San Venganza.Truly, there would be nothing in his way of achieving his full power.

* * *

Speed sighed as he made his way back to his dorm. The day had not gone as he expected. The Mach 5’s first appearance in fifteen years had gone over with much excitement from the student body. The Mach 5’s first test drive on the Virtual Track, on the other hand, had the opposite reaction. For the first day, Speed was tasked to traverse the Virtual Track simulation known as the Tetris Track (The official name was technically “Rectangle Road”, but everyone at the Academy called it the Tetris Track due to its similarities to the game). Unfortunately, Speed ended up crashing and in the first lap of the course; he didn’t even make it past the first loop-de-loop of the track. 

The crash was the result of a combination of factors: Speed had never test driven the Mach 5, Conor had not properly paired up the Mach 5’s control system, and Lucy was unable to give Speed useful advice to handle the Track. Needless to say, Speed, Conor, and Lucy, had gone from school heroes to zeroes in the span of five minutes. Finally reaching his dorm, Speed swiped his ID card and walked inside. Inside, Speed saw Conor on his bed clutching a Speed Racer doll and Lucy on a chair studying. 

“Speed!” Conor’s eyes lit up with excitement at the sight of his roommate’s return. “What happened?”

Oh right, Speed almost forgot about all that (it had been a very long day). In the aftermath of Speed’s failed test drive, he had been called into Headmaster Spritle’s office. Much to Speed’s surprise, Headmaster Spritle didn’t seem upset with Speed. Rather he asked questions about how Speed had recovered the Mach 5 in the first place. Additionally, Headmaster Spritle seemed very interested in Speed’s key and his childhood at the orphanage. As for why, Speed couldn’t say; it's not as if he was someone special.

“Nothing.” Speed sat down on his bed. “He asked me about the Mach 5.”

Lucy turned her head up from her book and looked at Speed. “What did you tell him?”

“The truth.” Speed simply stated.

“What?” Another voice chimed in. X stood in the door frame, flanked by Jared, Jesse, and Annalise. X stared at Speed with a scowl on his face. “That you _stole_ my father’s car.”

“What?” Speed said in disbelief.

“You heard me!” X shouted, pointing his finger accusingly at Speed. “You’ve got no right to be driving my father’s car.”

 _‘Who does this guy think he is?’_ Speed stood up and turned to face X. “If the Mach 5 was so important to you, you should have looked for it yourself.”

“Point - Speed.” Conor stated in an attempt to back up his new best friend. Lucy gave Conor an annoyed look, before once again trying to study.

“Stay out of this tailpipe!” Annalise shouted angrily at Conor.

“Back off princess,” Speed retorted.

“Show some respect _newbie_.” X said coldly.

But Speed did not back down. “I will when I find someone who deserves it.”

“You talk a big game.” X said in a threatening tone, getting right up in Speed’s face. “How about we settle this with a race?”

Speed stood his ground, not allowing himself to be intimidated by some jerk. “Fine.”

“But there’s no access to the track at night,” Lucy pointed out, finally putting her book down. 

“There is for me.” Annalise stated with a smug smile on her face. “My father built the track. I know all the activation codes.”

X and Speed continued to stare each other down; the tension in the room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Tonight, they would determine who was the better driver, once and for all.

* * *

As the elevator doors finally slid open, Annalise exited the elevator and made her way into her dad’s office. In a few hours, the showdown race between X and Speed would begin, and Annalise knew that X would need her help. Now it wasn’t that Annalise doubted X’s skills; she knew that her boyfriend could drive circles around that pathetic Speed. Rather, Annalise wanted to get rid of Speed once and for all (not kill him, but at least ensure that he could never return to the Racing Academy). And to do that, she required her father’s help.

Annalise’s father, Zile Zazic, made his fortune through the oil business. Through a series of business deals (most of them shady in nature) Zile has managed to become one of the richest people in the world. It was through Zile’s funding that the Racing Academy was built in the first place.

The office itself was massive, as it could fit two standard size homes back to back. Large tube-like structures pumped what appeared to be an oil like substance across the arched ceiling (these pipes served no practical purpose; Zile simply loved to flaunt his power and status in any way he could). While it was still only late afternoon, the dark navy-tinted windows made it appear as though the outside was in a state of perpetual night.

At the far end of the office space was Zile with his back turned and speaking to someone on a cellphone. Annalise was about to make herself known, before her father’s voice cut her off.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE PLACE WAS ALREADY SHUT DOWN!” Zile screamed into the phone, beginning to pace angrily back and forth (somehow not seeing his daughter). The person on the opposite end of the phone was apparently trying to explain the situation.

“Well was there anything salvageable.” Zile growled into the phone with a cold furry, nearly crushing the cellphone in his hand. As the person on the other end gave a nervous response, a scowl formed on Zile’s face. “You’re telling me that the only thing there is a _toaster.”_

“Bring your team back here.” Zile said, taking a deep breath and pinching the bridge of his nose. When the person responded back, Zile’s face once again contorted in anger. “Wha- NO! I DON’T WANT THE TOASTER!”

The person on the other end of the line gave a short, meek reply.

“Wha- Alright fine _you_ can keep the toaster. Just get back here.” With that Zile hung up the phone. 

Zile slumped into his office chair with an exasperated sigh. Turning his head up, Zile finally noticed his daughter’s presence in the room.

“Hi sweetie.” Zile said with a gentle tone, a complete 180 from how he talked on to the person on the phone. “Listen, daddy isn’t in a good mood right now. Can whatever you need wait until tomorrow?”

 _‘This is a problem,’_ Annalise grimaced. As much as Annalise didn’t want to admit it, she knew the only way to get her dad’s help would be to figure out what was bothering him. “So what was that all about?”

“Well, you’re familiar with the Roxxon Oil Company.” Zile began. Annalise was about to answer, but Zile didn’t bother to wait for a response. “Let’s just say that we have a bit of a competition. And like any competition, Roxxon was starting to gain the advantage. They created a plant nearby with supposedly ‘vastly innovative’ technology. So, I sent in a team to...knock them down a few pegs.”

“Uh huh,” Annalise said with a flat tone, not caring about her dad’s business practices. But if listening to one of her dad’s long-winded speeches ended up helping X, then she would suck it up. “Got it. So what happened?”

“Well I just found out the site has been decommissioned.” Zile bemoaned, placing a hand to his head. “Apparently some accident occurred there. The whole place is deserted; no technology to tamper with nor people to...deal with.”

“Uh…” Annalise tilted her head in confusion. “So isn’t that a good thing then?”

“Yes sweetie but _I_ wanted to be the one to sabotage them!” Zile abruptly stood up from his chair, banging his hands on his office desk. “I even had a master plan and everything!”

“Does this mean I don’t get to use the bunny costume?” Stan said, wearing a pink bunny costume (who somehow managed to walk into the room completely unnoticed).

“No- wha- Stan that wasn’t even part of the plan to begin with!” Zile shouted at his dimwitted assistant.

Stan walked over to Zile with outstretched arms. “Do you wanna hug?”

“OUT!” An enraged Zile shouted, pointing to the office room door.

“Aww,” Stan said dejectedly, slowly walking out of the room. A long period of awkward silence hung in the office room as Annalise looked at her moping father, who had slumped down into his office chair.

“Well, look at it this way.” Annalise said, trying to once again bring up her original point. “With those Roxxie people out of the way, you can then focus on destroying the Mach 5.”

“Not now sweetie, daddy is thinking.” Zile said with his brow furrowed, clearly deep in thought. Suddenly his eyes suddenly lit up with realization. “Wait a second, if I don’t have to worry about Roxxon, then I can focus on my main goal: destroying the Mach 5 once and for all!”

While Zile was manically laughing at his new evil plan, Annalise rolled her eyeballs _. ‘He’s so over dramatic about everything.’_

“Well, I think you’re about to get the perfect opportunity to destroy that dork’s car.” Annalise began, getting her father’s attention. “X and I are facing off against that Speed kid tonight in the Virtual Track.”

Zile gave his daughter a disapproving look. “Now Annalise, you know that is against the rules for students to race unsupervised on the Track,” Zile scolded his daughter.

Annalise raised an eyebrow in response. “And destroying someone’s car is?” A long beat of silence passed as father and daughter continued to stare at each other.

“Point taken.” Zile finally admitted. “What is your idea?”

With a sly smile, Annalise began to explain her plan to her father. As Annalise continued talking, a smirk formed on Zile’s face. In the office space, father and daughter continued to formulate their evil plot. One thing was certain: at tonight’s race, that Speed kid would be going down.

* * *

At long last night had finally arrived. Getting to the track proved easy for the teens, as the Academy security was relatively lax. The Track’s nighttime atmosphere was different from the Qualifier Race as, well...night is from day. The Qualifier Race, while challenging, had been more of a friendly competition. Tonight, however, there would be no holding back; each driver was going to give it their all. X made it into his garage and started driving the Shooting Star to the Track.

 _‘You better watch your back Speed.’_ X fumed in the Shooting Star as he approached the starting line, his blood pumping through his ears. _‘This time I_ won’t _be holding back.’_

At the starting line X saw Speed’s car pull up, then Annalise’s car, and then a giant robot shark-.

 _‘Wait what?’_ X did a double take. Sure enough, three large vehicles, known by the Academy as Shark Cars, had driven up to the starting line. Though the term “car” was a misnomer, as the large vehicles were more akin to a hybrid of tank and monster trunk in appearance. 

While the front tires were relatively normal sized, the rear tires were three times the size of a normal tire. In the back of the vehicles were two large thrusters, allowing the sharks to achieve a top speed of 200 mph. Each Shark Car possessed a pair of powerful jaws (twisted into a sinister smile) that could tear through metal, hence their name. The front “visual sensors” had a red glow, making the Shark Cars even more menacing. And, oh yeah, each Shark Car had a hidden compartment that shot out sticky black spheres that could slow down cars. All in all, the Shark Cars seemed to fit better as government weapons than for race car driving practice

Pressing a small button to the right of the steering wheel, X turned on his radio system. A rectangular holographic panel of Annalise popped up in front of X’s windshield. “What’s up babe?”

X pointed his thumb over his left shoulder. “What’s with the Shark Cars?”

“Oh, those guys. Well, I figure we needed a little extra... _force_ to show we mean business.” Annalise said, her eyes shone with subtle bloodlust. “They’ll help us crush that Speed kid to smithereens.”

X was taken aback by his girlfriend’s statement (he knew Annalise had a violent streak, but it wasn’t usually like this). “Annalise, the point of this race is to teach the dude a lesson. Not send him to ER!”

Indeed, the Shark Cars had resulted in several students experiencing severe injuries. It got to the point where the Academy board held a meeting about whether the Shark Cars would continue to be operational. Though as tonight showed, the cars would still be utilized in future races at the Academy.

“Hey look, it's no big deal.” Annalise replied with a slight attitude. “Besides, are you really just going to let that noob keep driving your _dad’s_ car.”

A long moment of silence hung between the two. “Alright fine, we’ll use them.” X finally admitted. “But they better not smash my dad’s car.”

“That’s the spirit.” Annalise smiled, before shutting off the hologram projection.

For a few brief minutes, a tense silence hung in the air. That is, until it was broken by Annalise. “You’re about to eat my dust, Speed Bump!”

“Keep trash talking Annalise,” Speed merely snarked in response.

“Pay attention Speed.” X coldly stated. “I don’t want you wrecking my father’s car.”

Suddenly, the electronic starting light queued up, shutting down all banter between the three drivers. The light shifted from red to yellow; X had his foot poised on the gas pedal. And then:

GO!

All the racers immediately shot off from the starting line. Like the Qualifier Race earlier in the day, X had easily managed to take the lead. Speed and Annalise were neck in neck in the middle of the pack, surrounded by the three Shark Cars. However, the Shark Cars remained static, keeping a consistent pace and not attacking the other drivers. For they were not programed to attack until the racers had entered the Virtual Track. Once inside the Virtual Track it would be a much different story, as Annalise had picked one of the hardest tracks: The Eliminator. 

As the drivers rounded the bend, two large metal arches slowly folded up from the ground until they rested against each other. Once the pieces connected, a large blue portal formed in the center. This was the entrance to the Virtual Track. One by one, each vehicle rushed through the blue portal into the Virtual Track.

For a track called “The Eliminator”, it was a surprisingly pleasant place. The virtual sky was a bright blue with vibrant clouds. A long cliff face seemed to stretch on to infinity. At the base of the cliff was a large blue ocean. The Eliminator’s appearance was more like a prime tourist spot than a difficult racecourse. However, looks could be deceiving.

X barely managed to avoid going over the cliff, which were hidden behind the virtual cliff’s sharp, winding turns. Only experienced drivers like X had succeeded in making it to the end. 

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

X was so focused on the track in front of him that it took him a couple of moments to realize his radio alarm was going off. Turning around another sharp bend, X barely managed to press the answer button on his car radio.

Once again, an image of Annalise popped up on X’s windshield, her face a mixture of stressed and scared. “X! Don’t just sit there! Get me-” Suddenly, Annalise’s eyes widened in fear. “AHH-”

X had only a couple of moments to look in his rearview mirror, watching as one of the Shark Cars shoved Annalise’s car off the side of the cliff.

Now normal circumstances would cause X to be shocked and terrified at the fate of his girlfriend. However, that was not the case with the Virtual Track, as all “crashed” vehicles in the virtual track were instead sent back into the real world relatively safe and sound. As a result, Annalise’s car simply dissipated in a series of blue lines as it was kicked out of the Track.

 _‘Oh, I’m never going to hear the end of that one.’_ X cringed, sinking slightly in his seat. Indeed, Annalise would probably give X the whole ‘why didn’t you protect me, you are a terrible boyfriend speech’ once X reached the finish line. Glancing into his rearview mirror again, X narrowed his eyes at Speed’s car. _‘Well I guess it's just you and me now.’_

Time to show that kid who was boss.

* * *

Speed managed to catch a glimpse of Annalise’s car disappearing, before turning to look at the track ahead. ‘ _It’s just you and me now.’_ Speed pressed his foot on the accelerator; time to show that jerk who was boss.

Speed continued to weave through the track, surrounded by two of the Shark Cars. Despite this, the Shark Cars didn’t try to attack at all; all they did was move side to side and lazily snap their jaws. For something ‘with the instincts of a real Great White Shark’, they were relatively easy to handle. Speed barely managed to control the Mach 5 as he rounded another turn, almost crashing into the cliff wall.

“Speed!” Lucy’s concerned face popped up on Speed’s dashboard cam. “You’re pushing too hard into the turns!”

“Don’t worry I got this,” Speed said as he rounded yet another sharp turn, coming within a hair’s width of the cliff rock. “Besides, this Track is pretty easy.”

Rounding the next bend, the vehicles entered a long, straight tunnel. The Shark Car, seeing an opportunity, activated a series of saws around its tires and attempted to push Speed into the tunnel wall.

“Speed! They’re right on your tail!” Lucy shouted in a concerned tone.

“I see that!” Speed gritted his teeth, trying to avoid the Shark Car’s sharp blades. _‘Okay, maybe this Track is a bit harder than I thought.’_

“I'll just slide over too-” Speed looked over to his right only to see that he had reached the end of the tunnel. “OH NO!”

Lucy’s eyes widened in distress. “There’s no seawall on that side!”

“I know Captain Obvious.” Speed stated in a nervous tone; he was about a foot away from being shoved off the cliff.

“Speed, listen to me.” Lucy began, having regained some composure. “The Shark Car is going to back up before it will try to attack. You’ll have roughly three seconds to get out of there.”

As if on cue, the Shark Car moved a few feet away, creating a space just wide enough for the Mach 5 to move through. 

“NOW!” Lucy shouted.

Speed floored the accelerator, just barely evading the aggressive Shark Car. Letting off the accelerator, Speed lurched forward in his seat, somewhat winded but otherwise okay. “That was too close,” Speed said with a sigh of relief, keeping careful eye on the Shark Car; there would be no way he’d be underestimating them again. “Thanks Lucy.”

“WOOHOO!” Conor’s face popped up in frame, obscuring Lucy’s face. “YAY! GO SPEED! YOU’RE THE- OW!” Conor was shoved out of the way with Lucy’s face once again appearing in the dashboard cam. 

Lucy appeared to give Connor an annoyed look before turning her focus to Speed. “You’re almost at the end Speed. Just stay focused and you will be fine.”

Up ahead, Speed could see the front Shark Car activate some sort of gun system and aim it at X, who was still maintaining the lead. Before, Speed could react, the Shark Car fired several black spheres at X’s car. However, the things did not explode, but stuck to the back of X’s car. Rather, they appeared to be slowing him down, allowing Speed to start catching up to the other driver.

“Hey guys. I’m almost about to pass X.” Speed said with a cocky grin on his face. “This Shark Car is actually being pretty helpful with its weight gun thing.”

“Speed that’s-” Lucy started, before looking at Speed with a nervous expression. “Wait, did you say _weights_.”

“Uh yeah what-” Speed began to say, before Lucy disappeared off screen. “Lucy. Lucy? Are you there?”

At that moment, Conor’s face popped up on the dashboard cam. “Speed!” Conor had a fearful look on his face, once again clutching his Speed Racer doll. “Are you okay! Do you have any weights on you?!?”

“No, they're only on X’s car. And they’re just weights.” Speed tilted his head in confusion, not understanding why everyone was freaking out. “It’s not like they’ll hurt or anything.” 

“They’re called drag weights, and they’re only part of the Shark Car’s attack.” Conor shouted at Speed frantically, once again clutching his Speed Racer doll. “Once the Shark Car catches up to you, it smashes your car like a car compactor!”

“Wait _what_?” Speed shouted in disbelief. True, X had been a jerk to Speed, but he didn’t deserve to get crushed to smithereens. _‘Why do these things even have that feature?’_

Before Speed could comment, Lucy’s face reappeared on the dashboard cam.

“Lucy. What happened?” Speed asked.

“I tried to warn X about the Shark Car attack, but he’s not listening to me.” Lucy explained in a nervous tone. “He won’t budge.”

By this point, the vehicles had entered another tunnel and Speed was right next to the Shark Car shooting the drag weights. X’s car was still slowly edging closer to the Shark Car, its metallic jaws snapping wildly. At that moment, an idea popped in Speed’s head. He couldn’t explain why, but something deep inside of Speed wanted to protect X. If this was going to work though, Speed would need to act fast.

Speed pressed a button, switching over to X’s radio feed. “Hang on X, I got it.” 

Speed made a sharp turn of his steering wheel ramming the Mach 5 right into the Shark Car. The Shark Car, caught completely off guard, was then shoved into the tunnel wall. As soon as the Shark Car made contact with the seawall, its tires began to skid. Speed looked in his rearview mirror and saw the Shark Car flip over, landing upside down on the Track. _‘Holy crap that actually worked.’_

“I don’t need your help.” X coldly stated, completely ignoring the fact Speed had risked his own safety to help X. “Back off.” With that X disconnected his radio feed.

Speed rolled his eyes in response. _‘Well that’s one way to say, ‘thank you for saving my life’.’_

Speed was jolted out of his thoughts when something bumped him from behind. Checking his rearview mirror, Speed’s eyes widened. Speed had been so focused on the one Shark Car, that he completely ignored the other two Shark Cars. This gave the Shark Cars the opportunity to get within five feet of Speed’s car. Taking initiative, the two Shark Cars began to surround Speed, attempting to sandwich him between them. 

“Not good.” Speed tried to evade the two Shark Cars, only to enter yet another tunnel. The Shark Cars changed tactics and started herding Speed into the tunnel wall. Speed was so close to the wall that his left tires had started to rise up the side of the tunnel.

“Speed!” Lucy’s voice once again chimed in. “What are you doing?”

“He’s going to crash!” Conor covered his eyes.

For those few moments, everything was in slow motion. A series of figures floated in front of Speed’s face. The figures consisted of a series of what looked like math calculations and physics diagrams, which flew rapidly across Speed’s vision. Speed didn’t really know exactly what they were (he only began seeing them recently, usually while in a car). What Speed did know is, whenever he saw the figures, he knew exactly what to do. 

And now was one of those moments.

“Don’t worry guys I got this.” Speed accelerated the Mach 5 and started driving right on the tunnel wall. “Watch this.” Continuing his upward ascent, Speed managed to reach the tunnel ceiling.

 _‘Now here comes the fun part,’_ Speed mused as he positioned the Mach 5 and took his foot off the accelerator. The Mach 5 made a short drop, landing upside down on top of the Shark Car. Speed then turned his attention back to his two stunned friends. “Okay, now what?”

Lucy simply stood there with her mouth agape. 

Surprisingly, Conor was the first to find his voice. “I don’t believe it! No one can do that!

“This is fun.” Speed folded his arms behind his head, a smug smirk forming on his face. _‘I wonder what X thinks of this.’_

“Get off the roof!” Lucy shouted, worried about her friend being in such a dangerous position.

But Speed did not pay his concerned friend any mind. _‘I got this race in the bag,’_ Speed mused. 

Suddenly, the Shark Car began to shake violently. It was clearly not happy with the race car sitting on top of it. 

“Okay. Time to move.” Speed stated as he once again gripped the Mach 5 steering wheel. “But if I’m going to get out of this…” But it was too late. The Shark Car had already exited the tunnel, leaving Speed upside down like a helpless turtle. “Uh-Oh.”

Speed started frantically pressing buttons in the Mach 5 in a desperate attempt to get out of the situation. For a few brief moments, Speed saw something in his peripheral. _‘Wait is that a pipe?’_

_CRASH_

A bright flash of light blinded Speed, causing him to lurch forward. The next thing Speed knew, he was back in the real world, flying through the air still attached via seatbelt to the lone Mach 5 seat. Speed frantically pulled the parachute cord, but the parachute refused to work. No it wasn’t that the parachute wasn’t working; the parachute _wasn’t installed_. Speed closed his eyes to avoid seeing the rapidly approaching ground.

_TUG_

It took Speed a few minutes for Speed to realize that everything was still and he had not crashed into the ground. Slowly opening his eyes, Speed saw that he was hanging from one of the large pole structures on the Academy Track. Although Speed shaken from the crash, he was alive.

 _‘I am_ never _doing that again,’_ Speed thought, breathing a sigh of relief as he continued to dangle from the pole.

It took roughly a half hour, but eventually Lucy and Conor managed to get Speed down from the large pole. However, the reprieve was short-lived, as Speed was confronted by an angry X and Annalise. What ensued was a full blown argument, with X yelling at Speed, Speed yelling at X, and Annalise yelling at X (she was indeed giving him the ‘why didn’t you protect me, you are a terrible boyfriend speech’ speech).

“You trashed my father’s car!” X shouted, giving Speed a death glare.

“I also saved your life!” Speed retorted, staring daggers into X. 

“Like I really needed your help!” X scoffed.

“You’re both about to need some help.” An older adult voice interrupted the two arguing teens. Apparently, despite all the planning for the late-night race, no one had gone to shut off the Track’s automatic feed to the Headmaster’s office. As such, the group was now face-to-face with an angry Headmaster Spritle. “Annalise, Connor, Lucy, go back to your rooms.”

“But Headmaster.” Conor started to explain the situation. “We-”

“Rooms. Now.” Spritle interrupted with an assertive tone. Not wishing to mess with the angry Headmaster, the teens slinked off to their dorms. Spritle turned his focus at both X and Speed. “Now which one of you is going to tell me what happened here?”

“Nothing, Headmaster. Just a friendly race.” X said with a friendly smile, placing a hand on Speed’s shoulder. Apparently, X was trying to sell the idea that he and Speed were best buds. “Right Speed?”

Not really knowing what else to do, Speed decided to go along with X’s ploy. “Right,” Speed said with a fake smile. “Just a friendly little race.”

“Save it,” Headmaster Spritle said, not buying the duo’s words. “You two. Clean up this mess now.”

“What!” X shouted at his Uncle incredulously. “Why should I have to clean up?”

But Spritle had already put his foot down. “Not another word. I want to see both of you in my office first thing in the morning.”

Knowing that arguing with the stern Headmaster would be pointless, the two teens strode off. After a few steps X and Speed very quickly split off into separate directions (after tonight’s events, it would take a miracle for the two to ever speak nicely to each other again). Speed walked off back to the garages, his stomach a pit of swirling emotions of anger and frustration. Though underneath all of that, Speed was just sad. The Mach 5, which Speed, Conor, and Lucy spent so long repairing was destroyed beyond recognition. After finally getting a break in life for once, Speed was now back to square one.

* * *

X took off his racing colors and shoved them into his locker in a crumpled heap, not even bothering to fold them. To say that the day had not gone according to plan would be an understatement. First that Speed kid, “found” his father’s car in the junkyard and claimed it as its own. Then the stupid kid goes and blows it up!

 _‘Though, wasn’t it your fault.’_ A thought rose up in the back of X’s head. _‘You challenged him in a race. You okayed the use of the shark cars._ You _destroyed your father’s car. It's no wonder that your father left-”_

X slammed the locker door, the loud banging echoing throughout the empty locker room. Taking a few minutes to calm down, X turned to leave the locker room.

 _‘It is_ not _my fault!’_ X rationalized to himself, nearing the locker room exit. _‘It's all that Speed kid’s fault! He was the one driving the car, not me! I bet he is going to get expelled tomo-.’_

X’s thoughts screeched to a sudden halt when he saw someone in his peripheral walk into one of the locker rows. Blinking for a couple of moments, X walked over to the row only to find no one there. X was prepared to search the rest of the lockers but stopped himself.

 _‘What am I even doing? It’s not my responsibility to look for some lone wierdo in a locker room.’_ Shaking his head, X once again prepared to leave the locker room. 

_TZZT….TZZT...TZZZT_

X paused when he heard the strange sound above him, turning his head up to find the source. The locker room lights, which had just been installed for the new semester, were flickering on and off.

The lights struggled to stay on for a couple of moments, before going out entirely. Only the moonlight shining through the windows and the faint glow of the emergency exit signs provided any source of illumination. 

“Oh really! Seriously!” X stormed through the dark hallways. “Jared! Jesse! I’m not in the mood for your pranks right now. You both remember the last time you tried a jump scare prank on me.”

Indeed, that incident had left Jesse with a broken nose and Jared with a dislocated jaw. X had inadvertently given the twins a basic (and painful) lesson on why pranking students was a bad idea. But apparently the lesson had not stuck. Oh, what X would do when he got his hands on those two-

_THUD_

“OUCH!” X swore out in pain. He had been so furious that he didn’t pay attention to the dark surroundings, banging his foot on one of the metal benches. Tentatively, X sat down on the bench, nursing his injured foot.

“Hello,” An unknown voice chimed in right next to X.

X practically fell off the bench at the sound of the voice. He turned to look at the person, expecting to see Jared or Jesse in a cheap Halloween mask. Instead, it was a stranger. The stranger was…odd to say the least. He was wearing a red jacket with coattails, along with black dress pants and dress shoes. The stranger had pale skin with (this was probably a trick of the light) a reddish tinge, with slick dark black hair that almost curved into several points. 

“Um….hi.” X awkwardly stated, before regaining his composure. “Do I know you?”

“Oh, now that’s rude.” The man chided, tapping his fingers impatiently on his silver skull head cane. “I mean in my opinion, it’s important to remember people you have done business with.”

“I..I..I don’t- what?” X blinked in confusion at the stranger’s weird response. He continued to stare blankly at the stranger, before his face expressed a look of realization. “Wait, do you mean _me_?”

“Who else would I be referring to?” The stranger chuckled (leaving X even more confused), turning to look at X. “I _never_ forget someone who has made a contract with me.”

X immediately knew that the man was lying. Whenever it came to contracts with potential sponsors, Uncle Spritle always insisted on reading the contract. That or have a couple of lawyers review the contract. While X couldn’t remember what each of those sponsors had looked like, he knew that this weird stranger was definitely _not_ one of them. “Look, sir- Mr.- whoever-you-are. You clearly have the wrong guy. I’ve never seen you before in my life and I definitely didn’t sign a contract with you.”

 _‘And have no intention of doing so with a creepy guy like you.’_ But X made sure to keep that thought to himself. The man only continued to stare at X in the dark quiet locker room. 

“No, I’m not wrong, my boy.” The stranger simply stated, sliding closer to X. “You and I have a pact with each other. Granted, I have yet to fulfil my end of the deal, but certain circumstances have led to me to require your assistance. And since you made a deal with me, you have no choice but to fulfil your end of the bargain.”

X was about to retort with a “leave me alone you wierdo!” type of statement, till he got a good look at the stranger’s face in the dim light. The stranger’s eyes appeared to have a reddish glow to them, now eyeing X with predatory intent. Further, it appeared that the strange man’s teeth consisted entirely of sharp fangs. X’s eyes widened, as any earlier bravado he had instantly evaporated in that moment.

X slowly inched his way to the edge of the bench, trying to create some distance between him and the crazy stranger. His confused and terrified mind came up with the best excuse it could conjure: “Can I go use the bathroom?”

The stranger turned away from X to casually examine his fingers, which suspiciously looked like claws (an aspect which sent chills down X’s spine). The stranger waved his other normal looking hand at X, as if to say, “your excused”.

X slowly got up from the bench, and cautiously walked away. When X had walked out of the stranger’s eyesight, he bolted to the exit of the locker room. 

_THUNK_

Once again, X collided with another bench, sending X tumbling to the ground. Frantically getting to his feet, X reached the locker room exit and rushed outside. X slammed the door behind him and leaned against it, breathing heavily. Against all better judgment, X cautiously opened the door and peered inside. The locker room was practically pitch black, with the creepy stranger nowhere in sight.

 _‘Who the_ hell _was that dude.’_ X pondered, before shaking his head. _‘Whatever, won’t be seeing him again.’_

“Did you honestly think that would work?” A familiar voice stated from behind X.

X froze, his breath caught in his throat. 

X slowly turned to see the stranger behind him. Before X could react, the stranger brought his cane up and pinned X to the wall. X tried to move, but his body was paralyzed. A sharp burning sensation began to spread throughout X’s body.

“I’ve told you once before: you **_will_** fulfill your end of the bargain.” The stranger had a cold look in his eyes. Eventually, the stranger finally released X from the wall, causing him to fall to the ground. With that, the stranger walked away into the darkness of the night.

X reached out to the stranger, only for his eyes to start burning. Rubbing his eyes, X attempted to remove the irritating sensation. The task proved difficult as a mist began to permeate the air. Though X quickly realized it was not mist, but smoke. Specifically, thick, black smoke that was now pouring out of X’s eyes and mouth. 

Through the thick smoke, X somehow managed to catch sight of his arms: they were fiery red, like the embers of a fire. X frantically rubbed his arms, only to find that flakes were coming off his arms. A look of horror appeared on X’s face when he realized the flakes were actually _pieces of his skin_.

 _‘WHAT THE HELL!’_ Before X could do anything, his arms erupted into flames. Then there was pure agony. X screamed in both horror and pain, as he attempted to put out the flames to no avail. _'_ _ithurtsithurtsitHURTS-’_

The flames quickly spread to the rest of X’s body. X’s skin burned away, leaving a layer of muscle. Eventually, the muscle and hair were burned away, with only X’s skeleton remaining.

Now, it wasn’t the change into a flaming skeleton that was the scariest thing about the transformation. No, the most terrifying aspect was that X’s screams of terror and anguish had shifted into howls of crazed laughter. 

_‘Someone…._ _please_ _…._ _help_ _..._ _me_ _…’_ X’s thoughts were buried as his mind was overwhelmed with foreign desires and emotions. Namely, a want- no a _hunger_ for vengeance.

As X’s mind slipped into dark unconsciousness, these foreign thoughts became more dominant.‘f̵̧̻̰̝̪̒̽̂̒ͅr̷̰͈͔̟̦̭͔͗̃e̸͚͎̬͇͊̄͌̑̒̒͘ė̵̬̑̅͂̿̏͋͘....F̷͔̮̩̝̋ͅr̴̢̈́͛̎͑͠ẹ̸͒̽̑̂͋͝e̵͈̫̽̄̑̀̋̾...... **F̷̧̡̢̛̛̠̻͖̜̘͎̮̯͓̬̻̻̺̪̙̳̱͕̜͑̀̒̽̽͂̚R̴̡̢̛̭̥̼͙͙̭̜͈̱͙̘̗̙͙̦͉̬̾̋̈́̽̚ͅE̵͉̩̟̯̖̟̤̻̞̤͕̬̍͋̃̔̒͛̄͊̓̈́͑͘͠͝E̴͇̹̹̝̪̪̖̣͙͆͊̀̂͌͊̏̆̾ ̵̫̪̤͖̱̼͈̥̥̳̪̓͌̍͂̽̉̌̌̈̊͐̅̍̽̄̄̽͠͝͠Á̶̧̖̪̩̗͖̞͍̝͈̘̹̮̯͉̝̪̱̞̿̅͒̀͆̊͌̏͆̍̀̎̃̒̚̕͠͠͠T̷̡̥̜͔͓̣̤̙̼̬̫̞̦̞͔̣͉̹̯̺̙̎̂͆́̔͘ͅ ̷̢̳̤͔̫̱͇͖̬̬̝̈́̅̐͂͊L̸̢̡̛͉͇̜̼̼̣͐̓̄̇̌͊̋͐̈́̐́̎͑̈́͑̑̈́̎̆ͅͅĄ̵̡͔̤̞̤̝̩̻̗͕͓̠̳̠̗͖̝̞̳̔͂̈́͒́̽̆̾̃̈̏̓͑̊̈́͒̀̍͂̐͘͘͝ͅͅͅŞ̴̮͇̖̖̉̈́̔̈̐͗̔̊͗̐̂̃̔͊̓̈́̕̚ͅ** T̷̨̹̩͈̖͔͙͑̒̓̄̆̃͆̅̕ͅ’

X Racer was no more.

Only the Ghost Rider remained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First appearance of the Ghost Rider! Finally!
> 
> Next chapter should see some more Ghost Rider action. Let me know what you think. Not sure how long the next chapter will take; hopefully not as long as this one.
> 
> Stay tuned, true believers.


	5. The First Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ghost Rider has been unleashed, enacting vengeance on both mortals and demons. Elsewhere, Speed and his friends make a surprising discovery in the Mach 5 wreckage. X manages to return to the Racing Academy, where a surprise awaits for both him and Speed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone.
> 
> I hope that you all have been healthy. We are all living in crazy times.
> 
> Here is another chapter of Ghost Racer. This was a fun chapter to write as I finally get to introduce some Ghost Rider action (finally). Oh and here is the disclaimer.
> 
> I do not own Ghost Rider or Speed Racer: The Next Generation. Ghost Rider is owned by Marvel Comics. Speed Racer: The Next Generation is owned by Larry Schwarz and Lions Gate Entertainment.

Max Payne sighed and brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear. All the while she continued to wash glasses in the sink. The other parts of the place had already been cleaned; or at least, as cleaned as they could possibly be. Creaky wooden boards lined the bar floor, some of which appeared to be rotting. Old beaten-up tables and chairs, most of which wobbled, were scattered throughout the bar. A collection of low hanging lamps occasionally flickered, attracting small swarms of moths. The whole place looked like it was falling apart.

But that’s what things were like at the Bar with No Name.

No really, that’s what the bar was called.

The Bar prided itself with allowing its patrons to remain anonymous; the less you knew about a person, the better. And for good reason, as most of the Bar’s visitors were usually involved in...less than favorable activities. The Bar was a place where a person could enjoy a nice drink in peace. Or at least when the patrons weren’t at each other’s throats (Max had spent countless nights sweeping up piles of fragmented glass and broken chair bits).

Right now, Max was the only person present at the place. The other Bar workers had already gone home for the night.

A small ding from the Bar’s entrance bell sounded behind Max.

“We’re closed.” Max shouted over her shoulder in an annoyed tone. She had forgotten to lock the door.

“Now what kind of welcome is that.” A sly male voice replied.

Max froze. _‘Oh no. Not him.’_

Slowly, Max turned to face the person who entered the Bar. Her worst fears were confirmed.

Standing by the entrance of the bar was Razor, wearing a pair of ragged jeans and a black leather jacket. He was a tall individual with tan skin, dark hair, and short stubble. Razor was infamous for being the leader of the Desert Devils, a vicious biker gang that terrorized most of the Arizona desert.

“What do you want _Razor_? I told you, the bar is closed.” Max stared at the thug with stone-cold eyes. “Also, weren’t you banned from here.”

Unlike others who went to the bar, Razor had no issues telling tales of his exploits. In fact, he almost seemed to relish the attention it brought him. Unfortunately for Razor, that attention was rarely positive. When this happened, Razor tended to show his dissatisfaction of unfavorable comments rather violently. It had been one of those moments that had gotten Razor kicked out of the Bar.

“Only for two weeks. And would you look at the time.” Razor smiled with yellowed teeth, pointing to the Bar clock which had just reached midnight. “My two weeks are up. So I thought I could come in here for a little early celebration.”

Max’s eyes scanned the Bar, noticing that Razor was the only person present. Being the leader of the Desert Devils, Razor was normally accompanied by at least one or two of his gang members. “Where’s your crew?”

As if on cue, a group of thugs (all dressed in a similar manner to Razor) had entered the bar. These were the Desert Devils, who followed Razor’s orders without question.

_‘Oh me and my big mouth.’_ Max internally groaned.

“Heyr! Lady!” A shout from someone in the bar broke Max out of her thoughts. Max turned to look over at a thug lounging over one of the Bar tables.

“Wmhere *hic* iss the *hic* fnree drknsi?” The thug slurred his words; clearly, he had already had enough to drink.

Max rolled her eyes. “We don’t serve free drinks here.”

The drunk thug stumbled to his feet and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

“No.” Max marched over to the thug and snatched the cigarettes out of the thug’s grasp. She pointed to the Bar door. “Take you and your smokes outside.”

The drunk grumbled in response, took his cigarettes and stumbled out the door.

“Oh Maxie, lighten up will ya. We’re all just looking for a bit of fun.” Razor walked over to the bar counter. “Although, I’m a bit light at the moment.”

Before Max could react, Razor reached his arm into the cash register.

“Hey!” Max rushed over to stop Razor, but was blocked by one of the other thugs.

“Hey, relax. It’s just a bit of cash.” Razor tucked the cash into his jean pocket. “If it will make you feel better, I’ll write you an I.O.U.” He added in a sarcastic tone.

“This is your final warning Razor.” Max shoved the thug to the side and got right up in Razor’s face. “Either you leave now or-”

Max felt something sharp and cold pressed against her neck. It was Razor’s pocket knife.

“Or _what_? You think you can just tell me what to do. You think _anyone_ can tell me what to do.” Razor spat in Max’s face. “I’ll fill you in on a little lesson: no one can tell me what to do, and there is _no one_ here that can stop me!”

_CRASH!_

The front window of the Bar exploded. The drunk thug from earlier had been tossed through the window, landing in a heap with a collection of broken glass.

_BOOM!_

Before anyone could react, the front door was busted in.

Standing in the broken door frame...was a skeleton person. No, not a “skeleton person” who was so thin that they _looked_ like a skeleton. A “skeleton person”, as in, they were _literally_ a skeleton. No skin, no hair, no eyes, just bare bones. But what made the skeleton even more unsettling was that it was on fire. Bright orange flames wreathed the skeleton's bones, continuously burning despite there being no apparent source.

The Ghost Rider had arrived.

Out of fear, everyone backed away from the Rider.

“Well shoot it!” Razor roared out to the Desert Devils.

Pulling out an assortment of weapons, the gangsters shot at the Rider with a barrage of bullets. But the bullets did nothing to affect the Rider. The only thing they did was make him angry.

“ ** _À̷͓̻̤̱̻͋͗̂͐̾͛̑́́̀́̽̃̄̽̂͒̌͛̓̍̒͐̀̿̓͊̈͑̋̎̕̚̕͘͘͘͝Ä̴̗̟͚͈̼͖̯̜̜͋̋̅̀̀́͊̐̑̉́̏̀̈́Ă̵̧̢͎̺͖̤̞̮̣̖̹̭͉̱͚̳̩̫͓̺̯̰̦͎̱̝͍̙͎̹̟͍͉̮͖̬͖̥̗̲̲̖̂̂͌̄̍̀͑͒̓͗̈̊̆̔̀̌͗̓̂͠ͅͅȂ̴̘͈̣̯̖͔̃́͛͋͒̃̃͂̑̈́͌̊̍͊̒͛̑͐̆̈́̀̄̓̅̊̊̄͐́̾̐̍̄̏̆̈̑̽͂͘͘͝Ḩ̷̡̡̨̡̨̛͚̺̯̤͓̤̺̠̜͉̩͙͓͖̙̩̹͈͓̘̭̅̈̋̽̌͌̈́̆̉̿̏̃̌͒͋͑͌̓̈́̉̎̄͗̽͗͋͆̒͒̂͆̈́̕͘̕͜͝H̷̡̢̡̧̡͓̜̖̯̮̦̬̝͉̣̣̞̹̪̥̤͔̰̥͙̠͉͕̖̮͓̰̫̻͇̘̹̹̙͋̽̔̅̌̄̆́̋͊̇͌̍͆̆̏̄͂͑͌̂͗͑̾̔̒̄̅̀̂͋̆̓̈́̆̓̂̃͆̔̃̎͘̚̚͜ͅͅͅH̶̨̧̢͉͕͈̲͇̥̥̟̗͇̤̳͈̮͑̑̊̂̔̀͐̇̽͗̾̐͆̀͑̍̀͆̓̈́̒͋̓̽͋̈́̀͂̃͐̏͌͐̊̀͘͘ͅͅH̴̡̡̢̦̬̪̩͍̣͉̦̳̯͇̟͎̲͓͙͈̰̳̯̻̖̹͉̬͎̋̓̃̍̿̀̾͑̋̕͜͝ͅͅ_**!”

Roaring with rage, the Ghost Rider rushed into the bar at the nearest goon. In an impressive feat of strength, the Rider lifted the thug into the air with its bare hands.

“He- Hey!” The man struggled in the Rider’s grasp. “Put me down!”

The Ghost Rider listened. And by listened, the Rider threw the thug against the back wall, shattering shelves of glassware in the process.

Another biker pointed a handgun at point blank range in the Rider’s direction. “Eat bullets freak!” The goon pulled the trigger.

_CLICK!_

The thug tried again.

_CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!_

Turning to the sound of the clicking, the Rider gripped the useless gun still in the lacky’s hand. Instantly, the gun melted into a pile of molten metal. Before the gangster could react the Rider delivered a wicked punch to the thug’s face. The mook was sent flying, hitting the ground with a sickening crack.

Meanwhile, two thugs attempted to rush the Rider with a pair of broken table legs. The Rider picked up a table and threw it at the thugs.

_CRASH!_

The impact sent the duo sliding across the floor, the table pinning the two to the wall.

The remaining thugs managed to catch the Rider off guard and tackled him from behind.

“We got him!” A thug shouted from somewhere in the dogpile.

_FWOOSH!_

In a flash of light the Rider threw off the goons pinning him down. The thugs flew back from the force into the walls and ceiling.

The burning skeleton turned his focus to Razor, the only person left standing. Slowly, the Ghost Rider approached the lead gangster. Razor stood there, paralyzed with fear. Thinking quickly, Razor gripped his pocket knife and stabbed the Ghost Rider in the neck.

_SHINK!_

The Rider stumbled back from the impact. Razor smirked in response; this would be easier than he thought.

That is, until the Ghost Rider stood completely still and slowly removed the knife; the knife was clean of blood and appeared to cause no injury to the Rider. At that moment, Razor’s smirk was replaced with a look of terror.

The Rider pointed directly at Razor. _**“Ḡ̴͕͚̳̓u̵̡͇͖̹̭̳͇̹̭̓͑̋̈́̽̀̆͝i̷̻͔͈͊̽̐̓̏̏̀͝ļ̸̥̰͓̪̬̍̄̄͐͠ț̵͗̔͘ỷ̴̝̻͓͉̒̐̎̊̓́͝”**_

Before Razor could react, the flaming skeleton picked him up by the front of his shirt. Razor stared at the Ghost Rider with wide eyes. The Rider’s empty sockets bore directly into the thug’s soul. _**“M̶̧̯͆̽y̵̠̹̺͍̋ ̶̝̭͔̦̬͂t̵̮͉̿̋̔͊͊̾u̵̜̦̰̜̒̌̔͛̕r̵̡͕̺̩̤̈́̽͛n̶̩̼̾.̵̥̜͓̖̹̮̃̎̿̎”**_

The Rider swung the knife directly at Razor’s neck.

_’NO’_

The Rider stopped the blade right at Razor’s throat. The soft voice broke the Rider out of his concentration. Shaking his head the Rider once again went in for the kill.

‘.... _no_ …..please….. _no_.’

There it was, that darn voice again. It didn’t come from anywhere in the bar. It came from somewhere deep down inside of the Rider himself. And try as the Rider might, he couldn’t ignore the voice’s plea. Reluctantly, the Rider let his hand down, dropping the knife to the floor. Razor, realizing that he was still alive, let out an awkward laugh.

Enraged, the Rider delivered a vicious backhand to the thug instead. Razor was sent flying across the room, falling to the ground unconscious.

It was then that the Ghost Rider caught sight of his arms. The skeletal arms were wreathed in flames, both filled with raw power. But, the Rider felt...bare, like he was missing something. Looking back at Razor, the Rider noticed he was wearing a black leather jacket. Striding over to the unconscious thug, the Rider reached down and put on the jacket. Perfect fit.

As all this occurred, Max slowly peaked out from behind the bar counter, where she had remained hidden for most of the bar fight. The young woman remained perfectly still, too terrified to move. Her attention was so focused on the burning skeleton that she didn’t notice her hand was slowly nudging over one of the serving trays.

_CLANG!_

The loud noise echoed throughout the bar. The skeleton jerked its head in Max’s direction. Max attempted to run, only to find her path blocked by the demonic entity.

“AAAAIIIIEEE!” Letting out an ear splitting scream, Max fell down to the floor.

The Rider glared at the trembling woman.

The flaming skeleton pointed a finger in her direction. _**“Y̷̢̡̳͆̌̐̒̋̀ǫ̷̥̮͋̇u̴̳̞̫̖̾͗̓̅̄.̴̧̍͐”**_

Max shut her eyes. This was it; this is where she died.

After what felt like an eternity, the skeleton finally responded. _ **“I̷̡̝̮͉͙̬͑̃́̀͑̈́n̴̨͇̪͖̣̓̈́͂n̸̫̹̖̥͍̈́͒̈ơ̶̲̲͙̮͙̎͗̕c̵̢̗̤̪̻̠̀̊̕é̵̢̯̲̔̇͂͝n̶͕͙̋̀͝ț̷͕̑͆̌̚.”**_

The Ghost Rider lowered his hand and walked away from the petrified woman. Slowly opening her eyes, Max saw that she was left alone in the wreckage, surrounded by either injured and unconscious thugs.

Meanwhile the Ghost Rider made his way out of the ruined bar, overall satisfied with the results. These sinners wouldn’t be a threat to anyone tonight, the Rider made sure of that.

The Rider made it to the parking lot before stopping in his tracks, sensing something. It was dark, unnatural, and most importantly, did not belong to this realm. The Ghost Rider turned his head towards the direction of the sensation.

There.

Somewhere far out into the desert, a presence had emerged. A presence worse than the thugs in the bar. It was wicked. _Evil._

The Ghost Rider grimaced. It would take far too long for him to reach the source of the evil presence. The Rider barely managed to arrive at the bar in time to punish those thugs. By the time the Rider reached the spot, the presence would be long gone.

Turning his head, the Rider’s gaze focused on a long line of parked motorcycles. One motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson to be precise, caught the Ghost Rider’s attention. It had a bright blue paint job with stylized flame patterns on the side. The engine and its components were compactly arranged in the bike’s center. Exhaust pipes flanked the sides of the rear tire.

The Ghost Rider strode over towards the parked bike, skimming his bony hands over the handlebars. The Rider couldn’t explain it, but he felt drawn to the vehicle. It felt good- _no_ \- it felt natural.

As the Ghost Rider ran his fingers over the vehicle, the metal underneath twisted in unnatural ways. The blue paint darkened until it was completely black. The bike shifted and stretched, becoming more streamline. The headlight split into two separate glowing orbs, looking more akin to a pair of menacing eyes. The mufflers and other components rearranged themselves till they looked more akin to a metallic organ system. The suspension of the motorcycle thickened into a chain-like structure. The motorcycle’s wheels ignited into vibrant flames, yet somehow were still functional.

The Ghost Rider mounted the bike and revved the engine. Yes, this was _perfect_.

The Ghost Rider rode away from the bar leaving a trail of fire in his wake. Tonight, there would be no escape from the Ghost Rider.

* * *

Crimson Claw ran through the desert on all fours. After being cooped up in the cave for the entire day, Lucifer had finally let the demon’s leave. Their goal was simple: scour the desert and bring back the contract of San Venganza.

But what was a contract? A sheet of bland paper. Bah!

“Crimson...don’t like...paper.” The wolf demon scowled as he continued to prowl through the desert. “Crimson...need...food. Crimson...want...flesh. Want... _ **blood**_.”

In that moment, a scent wafted into Crimson Claw’s nose.

Licking his chops, Crimson Claw rushed over in the direction of the delicious scent. Eventually, the monstrous wolf reached a spot with multiple stone structures. The curved stones were evenly spaced out and appeared to have words carved into them. But Crimson Claw could care less about what was on the stones (that and Crimson Claw couldn’t read) as he had just found his prey.

A javelina was strolling through the cemetery, occasionally snorting as it waddled along. The small pig like creature sniffed around various tufts of grass, completely oblivious to the danger lurking in the shadows. Crimson Claw bared his teeth, preparing to go in for the kill.

_Ś̴̝̹̬͚̹̒͝C̵̨̨̦̜̮͓̻͔͔̺̐͂R̷̢͉̿̅͗̅̆͋̍͌͑͆̌̕E̷̠̞̟̫͕̙̜̔̎͑̾̂̆͜É̵̢̢̨̩̖͍̬̩̜͇̝̌͋C̴͓̱̯̥͈̀̃̈́͐͛̄͂̍͆̂͘̕͠H̵̥͕̯͚̺̭̰͎̮̮̀̒͋̑̄̆͒̕̚͝!̷͉̲̇̎̓̍͊̃͂͑̽̏͛͊̍̈́͝!_

A loud demonic roar echoed throughout the night.

Startled, the javelina scampered off into the night to safety.

_**“RAWR!”** _Crimson Claw howled in anger. Who _dared_ deny him of a meal? A bitter smell began to permeate the air, something like rotten eggs?

Just then, a low metallic rumbling filled the air. Before Crimson Claw could react, a large metallic object smashed right into him.

Crimson Claw was sent tumbling head over tail into a cluster of curved stones. Grunting, Crimson Claw struggled to his feet and looked at his attacker.

In front of Crimson Claw was a black, two wheeled metal thing - the name of which did not exist in Crimson Claw’s limited vocabulary. Driving the thing was a bone man covered head to toe with bright orange fire.

The _Ghost Rider_.

The Ghost Rider got off the metal thing and pointed a singular bony finger at Crimson Claw. _**“Ģ̸̮͖͎͇̪̈́̐͋ù̶͔̠͔͚̼͓i̸̻̮͔͊l̵̖͓͈̿̾̈́t̵̩̩̗̲͇̉͌̀̚y̵̧̏̂̽́̀”**_

Normally the sight of a flaming bone demon would send a regular person running and screaming. But Crimson Claw was not a regular person.

**“GRRRRR.”** Crimson Claw glared at the Ghost Rider, refusing to back down.

Suddenly, Crimson Claw pounced.

In a quick motion, Crimson Claw pinned down the Ghost Rider while a wicked smile formed on his face. This was too easy.

Looking at the Ghost Rider’s face, Crimson Claw saw that the skeleton did not scared. Rather, Rider glared irritably at the large wolf.

_KICK!_

The Ghost Rider delivered a double kick straight into Crimson Claw’s chest, knocking the wind right out of him. Crimson Claw staggered backward from the force of the impact.

_PUNCH!_

The Ghost Rider sent a vicious uppercut into Crimson Claw’s jaw. The wolf demon was sent flying backward, crashing into a cluster of stones.

Cracking his knuckles, the Rider took a few steps forward towards the downed demon.

Crimson Claw got back to his feet, glaring daggers at the Ghost Rider with yellow eyes. **“GRAWR!”**

Crimson Claw swung his claws directly at the Ghost Rider’s head.

_SWIPE!_

The wolf demon’s claws raked the side of the Rider’s head, leaving three deep gashes. But the Ghost Rider did not budge. Rather, the burning bone man turned back to face Crimson Claw, fire pouring out of his eyes. Slowly, the deep gashes healed over, till there was no sign of them.

The Ghost Rider was done playing games.

_CLUTCH!_

The Rider grasped Crimson Claw by the tail. Swinging the demon around in a circle, the Ghost Rider threw the oversized wolf into a small stone building.

Crimson Claw struggled getting back to his feet. As he looked back over at the Rider, a low growl emanated from his throat. A noise that quickly changed into loud vicious snarling.

“Crimson...feel...pain. You...hurt...Crimson.” The large wolf prowled over towards the Rider, who continued to remain stationary. “YOU... _YOU_... _ **DIE**_!”

Crimson claw lunged again, arm reached out and-

_SINGE!_

The Ghost Rider caught Crimson Claw’s wrist with a single hand.

_**“ARRRRR!”** _Crimson Claw howled in pain and stumbled away from the Ghost Rider. The fur on his arm had darkened from a brownish-red to a burnt black. The skin underneath was red and raw, having experienced 3rd degree burns.

_**“G̴̢̓u̶͇͎͍̖̍̄͊̉͝ͅi̴̜̇̀͗̄̍̄l̴̡̯͓̏͒̃̄ͅṱ̴̡̃̓̃͌̇͜ẙ̸̩̂͐͌̔.”** _The Rider repeated, coldly staring at the whimpering demon.

Crimson Claw looked at the Ghost Rider with wide eyes, before running off into the night.

The Ghost Rider smirked. The demon could run all it wanted to, there would be no escape from the Rider. The Rider approached his motorcycle, prepared to hunt the demon down.

At that moment, the Eastern sky began to brighten as the sun began to peak over the horizon. For reasons unknown, the Rider was entranced by the rising sphere of light. As soon as the morning sunlight touched the Ghost Rider, he felt a sudden pain in his chest.

The Rider looked down at his hands; his flames were being extinguished by a fleshy substance that started to cover his bones. The fleshy substance developed into muscle tissue, which had now covered most of the Rider’s body.

No. This couldn’t happen. He was finally free. He couldn’t go back. He _refused_ to go back. The Rider attempted to claw and rap and the growing flesh but to no avail.

The Ghost Rider roared in anger.  
  


“ **N̶̨͉̤̞͙͙̮̬͒̏̋͑͌̍̀̾͗͊͊̿̕̕O̵̧̨̢̺̥̙̻͚͉̰̼̲̘͒O̴̢̟͕̟̬̪̪̣̭̗̗̤͔̩̓̍̄͒̈́̽͊̾̇̏͛̒͐͌̈́Ǫ̴̧̫̼̱̱͎̣͍̂͌̌̌̓̾͝Ơ̸͓͙̖̙̣̗̂̂́͊͑̒́̋̐͑͛̉̓̚͜͝͠Ǫ̶̬̲̬͆̌͆Ơ̷̥̗̽͂̋Ö̷̙͈̥͕͎̹̲́̇̍̓O̷̡̫̥͉̲̰̙̰̫͑͠ͅO̸̖̭̪͈̗̟̪̹͊̇̈́̈́̈̈́͜Ơ̵̘͖̮̺͉̽̏͋́O̶̩̪͓͂̓̈́O̷̤̠̠̬͓̰̎̎̅̽͝O̵͈͚̊̃̅̈́̏̾ͅO̴̤̖͕̜̫͇̚͠OOOOO** ooooooo……”

The Rider’s shouts were drowned out when the muscle covered its head. The muscle quickly developed a layer of skin, restoring the Ghost Rider’s human host: X Racer.

The form of X Racer slumped over unconscious onto the ground. The last thing the teen saw was a blurry figure approaching him before his vision faded to black.

* * *

_Meanwhile at the Racer family’s home..._

Spritle sat on a couch, looking at a small cylindrical device sitting on the living room table. The machine looked similar to that of a blender. A series of yellow lights flashed along the device’s left side as it continued working. The name of the tool was printed on the front in large letters: Gentester.

The Gentester was a device constructed from the brilliant mind of Reed Richards. The purpose of the small machine was to provide quick and easy genetic testing from the comfort of your own home.

As part of Academy protocol, all students were required to send in a DNA sample to be utilized for medicinal purposes (I.e. blood type for emergency transfusions). And being the headmaster of the Academy, Spritle had no issues obtaining the samples of students. Currently, the Gentester held the DNA samples of two students in particular: X and Speed.

Spritle sighed as he thought about the two teens.

When Speed Racer disappeared, Spritle had taken it upon himself to watch over X. Though as Spritle eventually learned, the road to parenthood was rarely an easy path. X was extremely hotheaded, prideful, and oftentimes let fame get to his head. But deep down, Spritle knew that X was a good kid. Hopefully, an intervention would be enough to get X to end his personal vendetta against Speed.

Then there was the matter with Speed himself. When Speed had effortlessly pulled off the 180 Reverse Thrust maneuver in the Qualifier Race, Spritle originally chalked it up to the teen being a rather skilled driver. But Spritle found his suspicions increasing when Speed began talking about his life during their office visit: how Speed had grown up in an orphanage his whole life, how he had been left there with the key to the Mach 5, and how he had been born roughly the same time the original Speed Racer disappeared. It was all too much to simply be a coincidence.

But despite all the information that supported his theory, Spritle knew shouldn’t tell the boys; at least, not immediately. If Spritle were wrong, it could end up creating disastrous results that would negatively affect both Speed and X. Therefore, Spritle needed solid, concrete proof.

And that’s where the Gentester came in.

Spritle hoped that, if the test results came back positive, that it would put an end to the feud between X and Speed once and for all. And if they were negative, well, Spritle would have to figure that out a plan B.

Spritle yawned and stretched his limbs; he had been up for most of the night waiting for the Gentester’s results to come in. Rubbing his eyes, Spritle got up from the couch and got a cup of coffee.

Taking a sip of morning coffee, a glint of light out of the corner of Spritle’s eye caught his attention. Said glint of light came from a picture frame, which contained an image of a child Spritle standing happily with his older brother Speed Racer.

Spritle looked at the picture with somber eyes. _‘I’m trying. I’m trying to be a parent for X. But it’s difficult. He needs you in his life.’_ Spritle turned his head to look out the window, watching as the sun began to illuminate the desert landscape. “Where are you?”

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

The loud noise broke Spritle out of his thoughts. Looking over at the device, Spritle saw that it had finished its procedure and printed a small slip of paper.

Taking a deep breath, Spritle took the paper and read it; the results confirmed his suspicions. With a shuddered sigh, Spritle pocketed the slip of paper and prepared to make his way back to the Academy. It would be a very interesting conversation with the two boys tomorrow.

* * *

The morning sun slowly crept into the room, eventually shining on the face of a sleeping teenage boy. X groaned and pulled the pillow over his eyes, attempting to block out the annoying light. The teen took a deep breath only to start coughing profusely.

His throat was extremely dry. This was not like a regular sore throat; it felt like X’s throat was on fire. Nearly gagging, X threw the pillow off his head. In his groggy state, X could see three water bottles sitting on his nightstand. X immediately grabbed the first bottle and downed the entire thing. Once he finished the first bottle, X did the same thing with the second.

X attempted to reach for the third bottle, but it was too far away. Leaning forward on the bed, X once again attempted the grab the water bottle and-

_WHUMP!_

X had fallen off the bed onto the hard stone floor.

Wait, stone? Looking down, X could see that the floor was not the blue carpet found in his room, but an old rocky floor covered with dirt. X turned his head around the room.

This was not his dorm room.

Instead, X was in a small room lined with old stone bricks. A few glass windows served as the room’s primary light source. The ‘bed’ X had been sleeping on was made from a wooden bench and a few blankets. A couple of old chairs and small wooden tables were pushed over to the sides of the room.

Questions began swirling around in X’s head like an angry tornado: How did he get here? Why was he here? Was he kidnapped? If so, what did they want? What-

_‘Damn it, get a hold of yourself X!’_ X took deep breaths, attempting to quell his rising panic. _‘Just focus on getting out of here.’_

Inspecting the room again, X saw a large wooden door at the far end of the room. X got up from the ground, only to get an extreme case of vertigo. Taking a few minutes for his head to stop pounding, X managed to walk over to the door. Testing the door handle, X was surprised to find it unlocked. _‘If I have been kidnapped, then these thugs really suck at their job.’_

X opened the door, only to find himself blinded by the bright morning sun. Once his eyes fully adjusted, X could see where he was: a cemetery. As in, a place with numerous tombstones, derelict mausoleums, and buried dead people.

_CAW! CAW! CAW!_

Turning around, X saw a large raven perched on top the roof of the place he just exited. The place itself appeared to be some sort of chapel. The raven stared at X for a few minutes, before flying off into the distance. With the crooked gravestones, abandoned chapel, and creepy ravens, the location honestly wouldn’t look that out of place from a horror movie.

_‘No, don’t start thinking that.’_ X mentally chided himself as he made his way down one of the cemetery’s dirt paths. _‘Besides it’s daytime, nothing bad happens in a horror movie during the day-’_

“Mornin’ bonehead.”

“AHH!” Startled, X took a step back, causing him to trip over one of the old headstones. X looked up to find-

_Sam Elliot._

X blinked and realized that no it was not Sam Elliot, but the resemblance was uncanny. Thin, wispy white hair lined the man’s deeply wrinkled face. The man’s skin had dark tan, most likely from spending hours in the desert sun. He was wearing an old fashioned white shirt, brown pants, and a cowboy hat. The man looked like he belonged in a western film.

“You okay kid?” The man said in a southern accent, staring sternly at the teen.

X frantically got to his feet, attempting to compose himself. “Yeah, I’m good. My skull feels like it's on fire but I’m good,” X groaned as he brushed the dust off his jeans and leather jacket-

_‘Wait what?’_ X looked down at his arms, inspecting the black leather jacket that seemed to miraculously appear on his body. Where the hell did he get this?

“It’s always the hardest.” The old man mumbled.

X turned his head to look back at the strange man. “Uh...what?”

“The first ride is always the hardest.” The old man leaned on his shovel.

“Oh...kay,” X said as he stared at the man with narrow eyes. Looking around the cemetery, X attempted to gain visual on the Shooting Star. “Hey, listen do you know where my-”

“It’s parked in the shed over there.” The old man tilted his head over to the right.

X turned his head to look at the structure in question. Like most things in the cemetery, the shed was very old and dilapidated. Its roof shingles were falling off and some of the exterior wood appeared to be rotting. It was a miracle that the thing was still standing.

“Thanks.” X started walking briskly over to the shed; the sooner he got out of this place, the better. It didn’t take long for X to reach the shed door. _‘Well it doesn’t look like a murder shed.’_ X mused sarcastically, before shaking his head. _‘Damn it brain stop stop thinking you’re in a horror movie.’_

X opened the shed door and saw the vehicle inside: a motorcycle.

As in, a vehicle that was a hybrid between machine and bicycle. A vehicle stereotypically associated with gangsters and stunt drivers. A vehicle that was not a car, and most certainly _not_ the Shooting Star.

“Something wrong kid?” The old man’s voice chimed in from behind X, causing the teen to flinch.

“Uh...yeah,” X said, turning to the old man and pointed at the motorcycle. “That’s not mine.”

“You sure?” The old man questioned as he leaned against the shed door frame, raising an eyebrow at the teen. “It’s the only other vehicle here.”

X’s right eye twitched. “Yes I’m sure. I drive a _race car_ , not a _motorcycle_.” X gritted his teeth.

X started to frantically pace the room. “Race car driving is very different from motorcycle driving. In a race, you're going up against some of the best drivers there are - all of you aiming for the finish line. It’s tense, cutthroat, and you gotta stay focused on everything. People on motorcycles just drive around and what - show off crazy stunts?” The boy’s tone grew louder and louder with each sentence.

“Oh, and another thing with race cars is that they don’t randomly kidnap you in the middle of the night. They don’t let you wake up in a horror-movie themed cemetery! And also, _race cars are not the same thing as motorcycles_!” X shouted at the old man.

The teen glared at the old man, breathing heavily. A long, pregnant pause lingered in the small room.

“Well,” the old man responded. “If you need a lift, I can take you.”

Moving past the stunned teen, the old man removed a cloth sheet off an object in the corner of the shed. Under the cloth was an old, rusty light blue truck. Getting inside the truck, the old man turned the key in the ignition; after a few tries, the truck sputtered to life.

In that moment, X realized he had two options: 1) trust the weird/creepy old guy to take him back to the Academy and not dump him in a ditch or 2) risk navigating the Arizona desert on foot to get back to the Academy and hopefully not succumb to dehydration or heat stroke.

“Hey kid.” The old man’s voice broke X out of his thoughts. “You gonna keep standing there or are you gettin’ in?”

_‘Guess I don’t have much of a choice.’_ X got into the passenger side of the truck.

The old man gave an aside glance at X. “Where to?”

“Racing Academy.” X answered, attempting to get comfortable in the ratty truck seat.

“All right.” The old man moved the truck out of the rickety shed and onto a dirt road. After a few minutes, the truck turned onto the main highway. Thus marked the beginning of the duo’s long drive back to the Academy.

* * *

Lucifer grumbled as he stood by the cave entrance. The night before had not gone well. Lucifer ordered the demons to split. This would widen the search radius and allow for the quick discovery of the Contract of San Venganza.

At least, that is what Lucifer believed would happen.

Instead, most of the demons had gotten distracted with aspects of the mortal realm (i.e. Skinbender didn’t even bother to search for the contract, but rather scoured the desert for creatures to “fix”). Many had not even left the mountain range.

Morning had already arrived and the rest of the demons had wandered off into the cave tunnels. Only two demons remained by the cave entrance: Kindred, who had a small centipede coiled around his neck, and Blackrose, who was leaning against the cave wall.

And Madcap, who had just returned to the cave, standing in front of Lucifer with a stupid grin on his face.

**“Well.”** Lucifer growled. **“Did you find it?”**

“Oh yes! I definitely found it!” Madcap shouted in an enthusiastic tone. A sinister grin formed on Lucifer’s face. However, this smile quickly faded when Madcap continued. “Though that depends on what you mean by ‘it’ though, cause I found a lot of things. Like there was a rock, some dirt, and some-”

Lucifer grasped Madcap by the neck, hoisted the demon into the air, and brought Madcap up close to his face. **“Did. you find. the Contract?”** Lucifer said through gritted teeth, loosening his grasp enough for the demon to speak.

Madcap tilted his head. “The what?”

_THUD!_

Lucifer threw Madcap to the ground like a rag doll. Rather than cry out in pain, Madcap laid on the ground laughing.

“You shouldn’t be surprised.” Blackrose chided, examining a thorny finger. “The location of San Venganza has been lost to history. The town is not going to be easy to find. Let alone the Contract.”

Lucifer glared over at the female demon with narrow eyes. **“Oh, should I.”** Lucifer slowly strode forward until he was face to-face with Blackrose. **“Do I need to remind you _who_ broke you free from Mephisto’s realm?”**

The two demons proceeded to stare each other down.

“Can you two be quiet?” Kindred hissed from atop a tall rock. “We find your loud voices rather irritating.”

**“Remember who makes the rules around here Kindred.”** Lucifer snarled, his red eyes giving off a hellish glow.

Kindred looked down at Lucifer, their centipede having crawled into their robes. “We are aware of your rules- Crimson?”

_SMASH!_

Lucifer delivered a powerful punch, shattering the bolder into oblivion. Kindred was sent flying into the cave wall. **“ _I_ HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR MOCKERY.”** Lucifer brought up his fist, which had begun glowing red. **“PERHAPS YOU NEED TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON!”**

“LUCIFER!” Blackrose shouted, breaking Lucifer’s focus.

_**“WHAT?”** _Lucifer roared, prepared to fight both demons.

Blackrose pointed to the cave opening. Specifically, she was pointing at Crimson Claw, who had stumbled into the cave.

To say that Crimson Claw looked disheveled would be an understatement. The wolf demon was covered in slashes and scars all over his entire body. Patches of fur appeared to have fallen off in some places. But the majority of the damage was visible on Crimson Claw’s right arm. The arm’s fur was completely singed, giving off the order of burnt hair and flesh. Additionally, the skin appeared to be peeling off in some areas.

Madcap, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, now spoke up. “Hi Crimson!” The demented clown skipped up to the large wolf. “You looked like you had fun last night,” Madcap chuckled as he inspected Crimson Claw’s injuries.

“GRAWR!” Crimson Claw swatted Madcap away with his uninsured arm. This sent Madcap into a fit of hysterical laughter. However, the attack caused Crimson Claw to fall to the cave floor.

**“Crimson Claw.”** Lucifer watched as the wolf demon struggled to get back on his feet. **“Who did this?”**

Crimson Claw took a few moments to catch his breath before he finally answered. “Ghost... _Rider_.”

The cave grew silent at the mention of the name.

Madcap let out a loud gasp. “The Ghost Rider! That...that…” Madcap’s mouth twisted into a wide smile. “Sounds fun! Let’s go tell him where we are so we can all play!” Madcap walked briskly out of the cave.

Kindred yanked the laughing demon back into the cave. “Are you _insane_!” Kindred shouted. A centipede had crawled out Kindred’s bandages, its mandibles poised in front of Madcap’s face.

“Yup!” Madcap answered cheerfully.

“The Ghost Rider.” Blackrose turned her head over at the mention of the name. “Didn’t the Rider get-”

**“Everyone _leave_.”** Lucifer growled.

Madcap face twisted into a rarely seen frown. “What. But-”

Lucifer glared at the small group . _**“Leave NOW! AND TELL NO ONE!”**_ His thunderous roar echoed throughout the cave.

Slowly, the trio of demons wandered off into the many cave tunnels, leaving only Lucifer and Crimson Claw.

Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest. **“What happened?”** Lucifer demanded.

The large wolf rested on the cave wall, struggling to speak through heavy growls. “Crimson...smell...scent. Yummy...scent. Food...sce-”

**“Claw FOCUS!”** Lucifer shouted, causing the wolf demon to shrink back. _**“What. Happened?”**_ Lucifer repeated through gritted teeth.

Crimson Claw took a few deep breaths, before he continued his story. “Crimson...fight...Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider...hurt...Crimson.” Crimson Claw said through low snarls. “Crimson...get away. Crimson-”

**“You fled.”** Lucifer glared down at the wounded demon. **“Like a _coward_.”** He spat.

Crimson Claw’s head snapped over at Lucifer, his yellow eyes filled with rage. “CRIMSON...NOT... _COWARD_!” Crimson Claw charged at Lucifer.

GRASP!

Lucifer caught Crimson Claw’s by the throat. **“Try that again.”** Lucifer tightened his grasp, nearly crushing the wolf’s windpipe. _**“And I’ll finish what the Rider couldn’t.”**_

Lucifer released his hand causing Crimson Claw to fall to the ground; the choked demon’s breathing came out in ragged pants. Eventually, Crimson Claw slunked off into the caves.

Lucifer shook his head. Did Mephisto think he could rely on his little Ghost Rider to solve all his problems? It’s not like the Rider would pose a threat, especially not to a demon like Lucifer. One thing was certain:

Lucifer would destroy the Ghost Rider.

* * *

“Ugh.” Speed tossed a piece of metal into the pile. “Finally done.”

After his late night race with X, Speed had spent the entire night cleaning up the remaining parts of the Mach 5. This involved moving multiple mangled, heavy car pieces from the track into the Academy garages. It didn’t help that X had never showed up last night to aid in the cleanup.

_‘The guy is an asshole.’_ Speed grunted, having finally finished cleaning up what remained of the Mach 5. _‘He doesn’t even bother to help with cleaning up the Mach 5-’._ Speed’s thoughts came to a crashing halt.

_‘The Mach 5.’_ Speed took a sharp breath. _‘I_ destroyed _the Mach 5.'_

As Speed stood there, more thoughts began swirling in the back of his head. _‘You took the Mach 5, possibly the last thing X had of his dad, and smashed it to smithereens. It’s no wonder he hates you. What kind of person would do that? You are worthl-’_

In a fit of rage, Speed delivered a harsh kick to a piece of twisted metal

_THUNK!_

“OW!” Speed clutched his injured foot, stumbling over to the nearby couch.

Pile of metal car parts: one. Speed’s foot: zero.

Just then the electronic door whooshed open. In stepped Lucy, Conor, and Chim-Chim.

“Hey guys.” Speed got up from the couch, attempting to look more composed. “Just finished up.”

Lucy looked around the room with a confused expression. “Where’s X?” Lucy questioned. “Wasn’t he supposed to help you with this?”

Speed gave an awkward shrug. “He never showed up.”

“WHAT!” Conor’s eyes widened. “What a jerk! I totally would have helped you out Speed. I know how to handle heavy metal.” Conor leaned his elbow against the pile.

_CLANG!_

A small hunk of metal fell from the heap, right on Conor’s foot.

“OWIE! OWIE! OWIE!” Conor hopped around the garage holding his hurt foot. Chim-Chim let out a series of rapid beeps, frantically following his injured owner.

Conor’s foot: zero. Pile of metal car parts: two.

Watching his roommate's antics, Speed couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. But then reality crashed down on Speed. After last night, they were bound to be pissed at Speed.

“Look guys, I know how you feel.” Speed looked at Lucy with somber eyes. “And I completely understand.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Speed, what are you talking about?”

Conor was still hopping around the garage with his hurt foot (now wailing that his foot was broken).

Speed swallowed. “I mean, we spent so much time fixing and building the Mach 5. And I just went and smashed it.” Speed shrunk back, clutching his right arm with his left hand. “So, you know, I’d get it if you guys didn’t want to hang out-”

“NO!” Conor rushed over and pulled Speed into a large bear-hug (Chim-Chim followed Conor’s lead and wrapped himself around Speed’s legs). “You can’t leave! Who else am I going to share all my Speed Racer toys with! I don’t know what I’d do without you!” Conor looked at Speed with pleading eyes. “Speed, promise you won’t stop being my friend!”

Speed stood there completely stunned; no one in his life had ever said something like that.

“Speed, look at me.” Lucy’s voice caught Speed’s attention, causing him to look over at her.

“Was that a risky, dangerous stunt last night: yes.” Lucy responded in a blunt tone, before her expression softened. “But it's going to take more than that for us to stop being your friends.”

Speed blinked at Lucy, before a small smile formed on his face. “Thanks Lucy.”

“So you promise then!” Conor’s eyes lit up.

Speed turned his head and looked back at Conor. “Yes, I promise.” Speed squirmed in Conor’s grasp (the redhead boy was a lot stronger than he looked). “Can you let me go now?”

Reluctantly, Conor and Chim-Chim released Speed from the hug.

Just then, Speed felt something vibrating in his pants pocket. Speed pulled the object out; it was that darn key again.

“Oh great, now what.” Speed said, somewhat annoyed. This key was proving to be more trouble than it was worth.

Instead of glowing, the key started to move. It was as if a large magnet was tugging on it. Before Speed could react, he was pulled across the garage to the pile of Mach 5 parts.

“Speed!” Conor said while hiding behind Lucy. “Are you okay?!”

Lucy groaned in annoyance, but showed a concerned look at Speed.

“I’m fine.” Speed grunted, trying to pull the key free. After one final tug, the key was finally released from...whatever had been holding it.

_CLINK!_

Something dropped from the key onto the garage. The piece in question was completely different from everything else in the small metal hill. For one, while the rest of the Mach 5 was totaled, the object was still intact with only a few minor scratches. Further, it didn’t look like a car part. Rather it looked more like an advanced computer disk.

“What’s that?” Lucy’s eyes were transfixed on the mysterious piece.

Speed picked up the strange object and began inspecting it. “I dunno.”

“Use Chim-Chim!” Conor said with wide eyes, his earlier apprehension completely gone. Chim-Chim hobbled over to Speed with his arm stretched upward.

Not sure what else to do, Speed gave the part to Chim-Chim.

The robot monkey opened his mouth and inserted the disk inside. After a few seconds, Chim-Chim’s eyes lit up and began displaying some sort of hologram.

The hologram showed an image of some sort of car engine. The engine had a sleek and streamlined design. An interconnected tube system lined the engine’s exterior, while an intricate arrangement of metal parts lined the interior. All in all, it appeared to be much more advanced compared to a standard car engine.

“Oh...my...gosh!” Conor’s eyes widened as he viewed the hologram. “Do you realize what this _is_?”

Speed raised an eyebrow. “Um. Some engine?”

Conor stared at Speed slack jawed. “Some engine! SOME _ENGINE_!” Suddenly, Conor gripped Speed’s shoulders and started rapidly shaking the confused teen. “Speed. This is the _Mach 6_ engine! The engine that Speed Racer was rumored to be working on before he disappeared! It’s the best engine in the world!”

Conor let Speed go and threw up his arms in celebration. “And we get to build it! This is the best day of my life!”

“Uh.” Lucy interrupted. “I hate to burst your bubble, but we don’t have the money or parts to build it.”

“Yeah.” Speed groaned, still dizzy from Conor’s shaking. “And we don’t exactly have a working car to put it in.”

Chim-Chim responded with a series of loud beeps. The robot monkey proceeded to pull out a series of random objects (a banana peel, hat with a propeller, a rubber-band ball, etc.) before finally finding the right item: a small poster.

Speed took the poster from Chim-Chim and read it. “The Sharp Mountain Speedway. A race meant for only the best drivers. Winner gets unlimited car parts.”

“Perfect! We’ll get that engine built in no time!” Conor shouted, his face beaming.

“Again, I don’t like being the Debby Downer here, but it says that first years aren’t allowed to participate.” Lucy pointed to a line on the poster. “And we don’t have a car.”

At that moment, an idea popped in Speed’s head. “I could ask Headmaster Spritle.” Speed blurted out.

A small frown formed on Lucy’s face. “Speed I don’t think that is a good idea. Headmaster Spritle is probably still angry about last night.”

“It’s the only chance we’ve got.” Speed folded up the racing poster and pocketed it. “Besides, when I tell him about the Mach 6 engine, he’s bound to help us out.”

Conor and Lucy exchanged a look, before a pair of reassuring smiles formed on their faces.

Lucy turned to look at Speed. “Well, I guess it’s worth a shot.”

“YEAH!” Conor screamed at the top of his lungs, pulling the two into a tight group hug. “GO TEAM SPEED!”

Speed smiled. It was nice that he finally found two great people that he could rely on.

Unbeknownst to the group, another person was viewing their conversation. A robotic drone, about the size of a coin, floated silently in the corner of the garage. A red light blinked on the side of the drone, showing that it was transmitting footage. The transmitted footage was transmitted to the office computer of a specific person: Zile Zazic.

“This can’t be!” Zile gritted his teeth, smashing a fist on his desk. “I swear I’ll crush those meddling kids before they even have a chance to build that engine!”

* * *

X watched through the window as the monotonous desert landscaped passed by. The drive felt as though it had gone on for eternity. Throughout the whole ride, neither X nor the old guy spoke a word.

Sighing, X attempted to adjust himself in the uncomfortable seat for what felt like the umpteenth time. It was then that X caught a glimpse of his reflection in the truck’s rear view mirrors.

He looked like he always did: light tan skin, handsome face, and hazel eyes. But his hair was a mess, with brown tufts of hair sticking out in all directions; most likely a side effect from sleeping on a bench overnight. Leaning forward, X used the mirror to try and tame his wild hair. He managed to fix some of it, making his hair at least presentable (but it would still require at least a full bottle of hair gel).

“You look normal.” The old man suddenly said.

X stopped his primping and turned to look at the man, head tilted in confusion. “What?”

“You look normal - for now.” The old man said (though he muttered those last two words under his breath).

X stared at the old man with a raised eyebrow. “Who are you?”

“The better question,” the old man turned to look at X. “Is who are you?”

X blinked in disbelief. “Uh, X Racer. Son of Speed Racer.” When the old man remained silent, X shifted his body so that he was fully facing the man. “I’m the most popular kid in school, have a boatload of sponsors, and I'm the best race car driver _period_.” X declared with a confident tone.

“Hmm.” The old man grunted in response. “Here.”

“Huh?” X questioned.

The old man pointed at something behind X. “We’re here.”

Following the man’s gaze, X saw that the truck had pulled up right in front of the Academy’s main entrance. Not wasting any time, X undid his seatbelt and rushed out of the truck.

“Last night was no dream kid, and it’s going to happen again.” The old man called out to X. “You are the Rider. The Ghost Rider!”

But X didn’t bother to listen, bolting from the truck to the Academy entrance. Once X had stepped inside the sliding door, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had never been happier to be back in school. Looking behind him, X could see the truck remained parked for a few minutes before it eventually drove off.

_‘Great. Now things can go back to normal.’_ X started to walk forward.

“Yo X! What’s up man?” A male voice called out.

Turning to the source of the voice, X saw Jared and Jesse walking toward him. Like the Qualifier Race, the twins were shoving food into their mouths. This time it was breakfast sandwiches.

“Hi guys.” X said; hanging with his two friends seemed like a step towards normalcy.

“Hey bro.” Jared said through mouthfuls of his egg sandwich. “What’s with the jacket?”

For the first second, X had no idea what Jared was talking about. In the next second, it dawned on him: X was still wearing the leather jacket from this morning.

“Uh…” X tried to think of a valid excuse. The less anyone knew about his ‘morning field trip’ the better. “I got cold.”

Fortunately for X, the twins’ simple minds did not require a complex explanation. Unfortunately for X, said explanation often sent the twins on nonsensical tangents. Case in point:

“Oh my god!” Jared’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “You won a lifetime supply of ice cream! I call dibs.”

“You idiot he didn’t win ice cream.” Jesse smacked his brother, showing a rare display of intelligence. “He won a pet penguin.” And then completely ruined it. “You know, from one of those adopt-a-penguin commercials.”

“Oh no, not penguins!” Jared said with a fearful expression. “You remember the time we got locked in the penguin enclosure at the zoo!”

X groaned. It was too early in the morning for him to deal with the twin’s antics. “Look guys, I’m having a rough morning, so can you guys just-”

**_“X!”_ **

The boys turned to see that Annalise was quickly stomping over to the trio. And she looked pissed.

_‘Ah, crap.’_ X was internally panicking while the twins took three large steps away from X.

“Hey babe.” X remarked in a flirty tone, his best poker face on full display.

“Don’t you ‘hey babe’ me! You think you can just ignore me!” Annalise shoved her phone in X’s face, showing 30 unanswered sent texts and 20 unanswered calls. “Where the _hell_ have you been?”

“Getting a cool new jacket.” Jesse called out from the side. X shot over an annoyed look as if to say ‘not helping’.

“Did you _buy_ the jacket? Or was it given to you by a _special someone_.” Annalise looked at X with fire in her eyes.

X’s eyes widened. “What! No, no, no, no!” X exclaimed, attempting to disprove his girlfriend‘s accusation of cheating. “I...I don’t remember where I got it.”

“You ‘don’t remember’.” Annalise looked at X with narrow eyes, clearly not buying the explanation.

“Like, did your Uncle get it or something?” Jared said, his mouth full of chewed egg sandwich.

“What no, my Uncle did not get me-.” It was then that X remembered - he was supposed to be in his Uncle’s office by 9:00. Spotting a nearby clock, X saw the time read 8:57 AM; he had three minutes (the last time X had played hooky with his Uncle he had been grounded for three months).

“I gotta go!” X started to make his way to a nearby elevator.

“Oh no!” Annalise stepped in front of X and blocked his path. “You are not leaving here until you give a _real_ explanation as to where you were.”

“Yeah, what about the penguin?” Jesse questioned, missing the point of the conversation. “And the jacket?” Jared followed up.

At this point, X had gotten fed up with the whole situation. “Here!” X took off the jacket and threw it at the twins. “You take it!”

Jesse managed to catch the jacket with his free hand. “Awe sweet! Free jacket!”

“Hey!” Jared grabbed the jacket, attempting to pull it out of his brother’s hands. “That’s my jacket!”

“No way!” Jesse exclaimed while trying to pull the jacket back. “It’s mine now!

At this point, the twins began to engage in a hybrid tug-o-war/sissy-slap-battle/egg-sandwich-food fight with each other.

This gave X the opportunity to slip away from his prying friends and into the elevator.

“Hey!” Annalise tried to follow her boyfriend, but her path was blocked by the bickering twins. “This conversation isn’t over X!” Annalise shouted.

But X had already pressed the up button, causing the elevator doors to close. X’s friends disappeared from view while the elevator began its ascent.

X leaned back against the back elevator wall. _‘This day can’t get any weirder.’_

Finally, the elevator stopped and opened its doors and X stepped out of the elevator. X made the short walk down the narrow hallway before opening the door to the waiting area of Spritle’s office. Once inside, X saw that another person was already there: it was Speed, sitting on the waiting room bench.

The teen appeared to be about to say something, but X cut him off. “Don’t.” X took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m having a really weird day right now. Let’s just get this over with, and then we never have to see each other again. Okay.”

“Fine.” Speed mumbled.

At that moment, the office door opened. “Boys.” Spritle’s head poked through the open door frame. “You can come in.”

The teens followed Spritle, who sat down behind his office desk. X sat himself down in one of the chairs, while Speed remained standing.

“Listen Headmaster Spritle,” Speed said with a hopeful tone. “I was hoping to ask about if you could help with…” Speed paused for a few moments, trying to find the right words, “Providing me with another car?”

X shot Speed an infuriated glare, seething in his chair. _‘Is this dude freaking serious!'_

Spritle, on the other hand, looked at Speed with a strict expression. “I am well aware of that Speed. But I can’t do anything about it.” Spritle answered frankly. “Now can you please take a seat.”

Looking somewhat defeated, Speed sat down in the chair next to X.

_‘Finally, someone’s put that kid in his place.’_ A subtle smirk formed on X’s face; though it was subtle enough to go unnoticed by Spritle.

“Don’t think that you are off the hook X.” Spritle looked at the older teen with a stern glare. “Both of you broke school rules last night. For that there will be consequences.”

X sunk back in his chair.

“However.” Spritle said with a softer tone. “I always knew there was a connection between you two, but I didn’t know how deep it went until now.”

X stared at his uncle with a blank expression. _‘Okay. Where is this going?’_

“Though in order to be completely sure,” Spritle said as he pulled out a small sheet of paper. “I compared your DNA with each other.”

Speed looked at X with a raised eyebrow, while X responded with an uncertain shrug.

Spritle turned his gaze from the sheet to the two boys. “According to these results, you two share fifty percent of your DNA.”

X tilted his head in a quizzical manner. _‘What is this biology?’_ Out of the corner of his eye, X saw that Speed had a similar puzzled expression.

“So,” X said. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“The only people who share fifty percent of their DNA.” Spritle took a deep breath, unintentionally creating a dramatic pause. “Are blood related siblings.”

X simply blinked. _‘Blood related?’_ X processed his uncle’s words. _‘What does that-’_

Then it clicked.

“WHAT!” The two teens shouted simultaneously (Speed came to the same realization at the same time X did).

“X,” Spritle said with a warm smile. “Say hello to your brother.” Apparently, Spritle thought that X would take this reveal as the best thing in the world.

The two brothers, on the other hand, were still in shock.

Speed looked at Spritle with a stunned expression. “Speed Racer is my father.”

X, on the other hand, was completely speechless. _‘I take it back.’_ X sat dumbfounded in his chair. _‘The day_ can _get weirder.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! What a whirlwind of events!
> 
> Congrats on reaching the end of the chapter! You earn a virtual cookie. Updates for the next chapter may be slow, as I'll be starting my next semester soon. Please let me know what you think, I'm open to constructive criticism (but no flames).
> 
> Also, I recently created a tumblr blog: https://envirogirlnj.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> I'll be posting a bit on there about Ghost Racer (updates, lore, etc.) and other interesting stuff. Or you can ask questions.
> 
> Stay tuned for more true believers.


	6. Bizzare Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pair of investigators are sent to uncover what happened at the Bar With no Name. Meanwhile, both Speed and X deal with the aftermath of the faithful meeting in Spritle's Office. X begins to pick up on strange happenings going on around him. Crimson Claw continues to hunt the deserts, hungry for vengeance on the Ghost Rider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope that you all are doing well.
> 
> I know it's been a while, I’ve been busy with the semester in keeping up with classes, projects, and 
> 
> but I’ve finally written the next chapter of Ghost Racer. 
> 
> Also I want to say thanks to my friends DreadfulStar (for their wonderful fanart) and As[-]Lynn (for being my beta reader). I truly appreciate the both of you. :) 
> 
> Obligatory disclaimer: I do not own Speed Racer: The Next Generation or Ghost Rider. Speed Racer: The Next Generation belongs to Speed Racer Enterprises, Larry Schwarz and Lions Gate Entertainment. Ghost Rider is owned by Marvel Comics.
> 
> Anyways onto the story. It’s going to be one wild ride.

_ While Speed and X were receiving the shock of their lives in Spritle’s Office, other events were transpiring in the desert... _

Deputy Kyle Kowalski drove through the bright desert landscape. He adjusted his sun visor in an attempt to protect his eyes from the harsh sun. This morning, the police department had received a report of an incident that occurred at a remote bar. In a shocking turn of events, the department head ordered Kowalski to investigate the scene. Up to this point, most of Kowalski’s police work involved writing parking violations and tagging speed cars (a rather moot job given how deserted most roadways were in the area). While it was true Kowalski was still an inexperienced rookie, a smile formed on his face; finally, a chance to prove himself. However, he had been driving for the last 3 hours, and so far the place was nowhere in sight. 

After what felt like an eternity, Kowalski could finally make out a building in the distance. As he got closer Kowalski could see two more cop cars were already in the parking lot.

_ ‘Makes sense I wouldn’t be the only one here.’ _ Kowalski mused, pulling his car into the parking lot. 

Kowalski got out of the car, catching the brown hat that nearly fell off his head. In front of him was the head sergeant, who was looking over a clipboard of data notes.

The head sergeant didn’t bother looking up from his clipboard as the deputy approached. “Deputy Kolaski.”

“Kowalski, sir.” The young deputy corrected, adjusting the collar of his brown uniform. “Do we know what happened here?”

The sergeant flipped through some of the pages. “Some sort of bar fight. Got outta hand. Massive collateral damage.”

Kowalski quizzically tilted his head. “What do you mean by ‘massive collateral damage’?”

The sergeant pointed his finger in the direction of the building. “Go see for yourself.”

Kowalski tried to ask another question, only to be given a steel cold gaze from the sergeant. Words stuck in his throat, Kowalski walked over to the bar entrance.

Deputy Kowalski didn’t even need to step inside before seeing the damage to the place. The lone front window was completely smashed in, reduced to a square hole lined with jagged glass. The entrance didn’t fare much better. The large wooden door had been completely knocked off its hinges.

Cautiously, Kowalski poked his head inside the broken door frame. To say the inside looked like a disaster zone would be an understatement. The walls of the place had clearly taken a beating from presumably objects and people being thrown into them. What used to be tables and chairs had been reduced to wooden fragments. Stepping closer, Kowalski noticed that some of the wood had black patches, as if they had been burned with fire. Shards of multicolored glass were scattered throughout the floor. The faint smell of sulfur wafted through Kowalski’s nose. The place looked as if a tornado had gone and completely destroyed the place.

“Jesus.” Kowalski’s eyes raked across the small room, nudging fragments of glass with his black boots. “What the hell happened here?”

“That’s what we intend to find out,” a deep voice said.

Kowalski nearly jumped out of his skin, turning towards the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway was a tall man. A dark grey trench coat hung loosely over the man’s shoulders. A rugged black stubble masked his squared jawline. Subtle white hairs poked through his dark hair. His cold dark eyes pierced directly through Kowalski’s very soul.

“L-Lieutenant Badilino.” Kowalski stuttered, trying to regain his composure. “I didn’t know you would be here.”

Lieutenant Badilino was practically a legend in the department, having made countless arrests in the name of justice. Not only that, but he solved several cold cases, most of which had the department stumped for years.

The Lieutenant scowled at the young deputy. “Of course I’d be here.” Badilino walked over to Kowalski, stopping till they were standing face to face. “This is  _ my  _ case. And I don’t appreciate  _ my  _ crime scene being contaminated by rookies like you.” 

Kowalski flinched, shrinking back from the Lieutenant’s piercing gaze.

“Sirs?” Another voice rang out from the entrance. The two men turned back to the entrance, seeing another young cop poking his head inside. 

“What?” Lt. Badilino growled, gritting his teeth.

The cop gestured behind him with his thumb. “We have a witness here outside.” The cop quickly ducked back outside, most likely he had been intimidated by Lt. Badilino’s intimidating stare.

Lt. Badilino gave an aside glance to Kowalski. “You gotta notebook.”

Kowalski stood there in a daze, eyes widening when he realized that Lt. Badilino was talking to him.

“Ye-yes sir, right here.” The young man fiddled in his pockets till he pulled out a small hand-held notepad.

“Good.” Lt. Badilino adjusted his jacket and marched towards the door. “You can make yourself useful.”

The two exited the bar and followed the cop around the side of the building. As soon as Kowalski rounded the corner, he saw an attractive young woman seated on a small bench. Her red hair hung in cascades down to her shoulders. A dark jacket and tight jeans framed her slender figure. Kowalski felt his heart skip a beat.

“Stay focused.” Lt. Badilino barked.

Kowalski gulped and awkwardly adjusted his collar. “R-right. Yes sir.”

The two approached the woman, whose head perked up in their direction. 

Lt. Badilino folded his arms and glared daggers at the redhead. “Name.”

The woman snorted. “Wow. Is that really how you say hello to a person?” She crossed her legs. 

“State your name.” Lt. Badilino gritted his teeth.

The woman rolled her eyes. “Max Payne.”

Kowalski readied his pen over his notebook. “Alright Ms. Payne,” Kowalski began. “Can you ex-”

“Your real name.” Lt. Badilino cut the deputy off.

A scowl crossed ‘Max’s’ face. “I don’t need to tell you that. I don’t need to tell you anything.”

Lt. Badilino took a deep breath. “I want to make myself perfectly clear.” He leaned over till he was face to face with the young woman. “If you lie at any point during this, we will have no choice but to bring you back down to the station. And I know that there are several of your…’unsavory patrons’ there that would love to have some words with you.”

‘Max’ continued to look at Lt. Badilino with an ice cold expression. But Kowaslki noticed a slight tremble in the woman’s eyes. Finally, the redhead turned her head to the side. A barely audible whisper could be heard under her breath.

“Speak louder.” Lt, Badilino demanded.

The woman groaned. She turned to face the two with an annoyed stare. “Molly Pence.”

The older man leaned back. “Thank you Ms. Pence.” Lt. Badilino’s tone sorted slightly. “Proceed.”

Molly gave a slight shrug. “Fine.”

Lt. Badilino folded his arms while Kowalski poised his pencil over the notebook.

“So it was a regular night. We had a couple of people come in.” The redhead had a far off look in her eyes. “Nothing too noteworthy. It was a Monday, and we don’t usually get a lot of people on Mon-”

“Ms. Pence.” Lt. Badilino spat. “We’d appreciate it if you limited the amount of extraneous details and got to the point.”

Molly rolled her eyes. “Well I was getting there before you interrupted me.”

“Mind your tongue.” Lt. Badilino gritted his teeth.

“Ugh. This is why I hate cops.” Molly scoffed.

“Er…excuse me.” Kowalski chimed in, only to be given two death glares in response. “Ms. Pence, when did the event actually transpire at the bar?”

“Fine. We’d closed down for the night, but then Razor and his biker posse decided that they wanted to stop in.” 

Lt. Badilino grimaced at the sound of the name. Kowalski, on the other hand, tilted his head in confusion. Before Kowalski could ask who Razor was, Molly had already started speaking again. “But then something crazy happened.” 

Kowalski stopped his scribbling and looked up at the redhead. “What do you mean by ‘crazy’?”

“Well, I mean....forget it.” Molly shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you-”

Badilino slammed his hand against the bar’s exterior wall, causing the woman to jump. “Tell us what happened Ms.  _ Pence _ .”

A pregnant pause passed over the trio.

“This guy walked into the bar.” Molly took a deep breath. “And he was on fire.”

Deputy Kowalski frowned, his brows drawing together. “On fire?”

“Yeah. Like-” Molly moved her hands around her head in an attempt to convey the physical form of flames. “That.” Kowalski couldn’t help but stare blankly at Molly, which the young woman clearly took notice of. “Look I know it sounds crazy, but-”

“Was he a skeleton?” Lt. Badilino interjected.

Molly abruptly turned to look at Lt. Badilino, her eyes widening. “How did you-”

“ _ Answer the question.”  _ Lt. Badilino glowered at the redhead with dark, stone cold eyes. 

Kowalski flinched; a dark look passed over the Lieutenant's face.

Molly swallowed. “Y-Yeah. He looked- he  _ was _ a flaming skeleton.”

Kowalski noticed the Lieutenant’s hands clenching as Molly finished her sentence. “Finish up her statement.” Lt. Badilino turned heel and began to walk away. There’s something I need to look into.”

“Wha-” It took Kowalski a few seconds to process Lt. Badilino’s words. “Lt. Badilino wait.”

But the man was already gone.

* * *

Lt. Badilino marched away from the confused duo, before ending up at a secluded spot of the main road. His cold gaze raked over the desert terrain. 

“So, after all these years, you’ve finally decided to show up again.” Lt. Badilino snarled, gritting his teeth. “Mark my words,  _ Ghost Rider _ , vengeance will finally be served!”

* * *

_ 1 week later _

X groaned as he slowly returned to consciousness. He could feel something lightly poking him in the face.

“Hey babe.” X responded groggily as he opened his eyes. “Good morning to you to-”

The beady black eyes of a large vulture stared down at him.

“AAAHHH!” X screamed, kicking his legs at the large bird. “GET OFF!”

The vulture began frantically flapping its wings, taking off to somewhere in the junkyard.

Wait, junkyard?

Indeed, X was located in a small dirt clearing, surrounded by large piles of broken cars and other machinery. The strong stench of rotten eggs filled his nose.

“Crap, not again!” X scrambled to his feet and rushed to the junkyard entrance. The good news: the creepy dreams had finally stopped. The bad news: they had been replaced with nightly sleepwalking episodes. 

For the last week, X found himself waking up in a series of strange locations. Unlike the first time with the cemetery, most of the locations were close enough to the Academy that X could sneak back in relatively unnoticed. But one wrong move and then ‘X is sleepwalking’ gossip would spread throughout the Academy like wildfire.

Finally, X had reached the junkyard entrance. It looked more like a prison barrier than a junkyard fence. The large, three-feet thick steel door remained fixed into the ground. Atop the door was a curled strand of barbed wire, which spanned the entire fence. The frantic teen pressed the open button on the door control pattern.

Instead of opening, the control panel displayed a single word: PASSWORD.

X let out an annoyed groan.  _ ‘What kind of junkyard needs a password?’  _

Racking his tired brain, X put in the first code that came into his head: Uncle Spritle’s birthday. X punched the number’s into the panel, only to be treated to two words: 

ACCESS DENIED.

Okay, what about Uncle Rex’s birthday?

ACCESS DENIED

Dad’s birthday?

ACCESS DENIED

“DAMN IT!” X delivered a harsh punch to the steel door. An action he quickly regretted, as steel is not forgiving on flesh. “OUCH! Son of a b-” That last word was cut off when X’s gaze shifted to his left, noticing a large, gaping hole in the junkyard wall.

While the wall surrounding the junkyard wasn’t as thick as the main entrance, it was still rather formidable, being composed of a foot of strong metal. The hole itself was rather large, being around the size of an average person. The edges of the hole were appeared as though they were made from a solid liquid. It looked less like the metal was busted in and more like it had been  _ melted _ . 

_ “What the hell did this?’  _ X looked at the large hole completely stunned, before shaking his head.  _ ‘Who cares! It’s a way out of here!’  _

As X left the junkyard, he saw that the sun had just peeked over the horizon. Good, it meant he could get back to his dorm without anyone knowing.

X opened the door to the Academy and nearly ran into a group of campus security guards. Thinking quickly, the teen ducked behind a nearby support beam. 

_ ‘Ugh, seriously. This really isn’t the time for this!’ _ While X probably won’t get into trouble with the guards (they would be more interested getting an autograph than enforcing school rules) he’d rather not go into details about what he had been doing in the Academy junkyard. Fortunately for X, the guards; they appeared to be distracted by a laptop showing cat videos.

Taking this opportunity, X silently shuffled behind the oblivious guards, managing to make it to the stairwell. After a rather long game of “hide-and-seek” between X and a few other unaware guards and early bird students, he finally reached his dorm. 

Then he remembered; it was Monday. And the first class of the day was with Professor Anaskov. X turned his head to look at the clock on the wall. 

He had five minutes.

X frantically got up from the floor.  _ ‘Okay, calm down.’  _ The teen began pulling out his toiletries out and putting them on the vanity counter.  _ ‘You can do this.’ _

Luckily for X, it didn’t take that long for him to prep in front of the mirror; why would it, he was perfect. Grabbing his backpack from the couch, X opened his door. And once again, the teen found himself rushing from one destination to another. Fortunately for X, the classroom was located close to his dorm.

X reached the classroom door, only to bump into another person. And, of course, said person happened to be a very irritated Professor Anaskov. Before the teacher could say anything, he was cut off by the sound of the morning bell ringing.

“Oh wow, would you look at the time.” X said with an awkward smile. “Better get to class right?”

The stern teacher glared at the nervous teen. “Get to your seat, Mr. Racer. You should be able to do that  _ without _ colliding with someone.”

X nodded and made his way over to his chair.

Class went on as usual, with Professor Anaskov lecturing on how to cause an opponent driver to lose control of their vehicle (and often chastising a student giving an incorrect answer). However, X’s thoughts weren’t about cars today, a rarity for the racing prodigy. It had been roughly a week since X first woke up in the cemetery. Though X hadn’t seen the creepy cemetery guy since then, X couldn’t help but feel as though there was something off about the man; it was like he knew something that X didn’t. And then there was that...weird dream in the locker room. At least, that’s what X was pretty sure it was. Though X couldn’t tell how, it seemed as though every weird thing that happened to him this week seemed tied to that event. 

_ ‘But what does it all mean.’ _ X questioned himself as Professor Anaskov continued his lesson.  _ ‘Damn it, none of this makes any sense!’ _

The ringing of the afternoon broke X from his train of thought. Getting up from his chair, the teen followed the sea of students out of the classroom. 

Normally during break, X would hit the gym for some daily exercise. But given his mad dash from the junkyard to his dorm to the classroom, X figured he could give the gym a pass for the day.

“X.”

The sound of someone calling his name got X’s attention. Turning his head, X saw Annalise standing next to a stairwell. She held out her hand, beckoning him to walk forward.

A small smile formed on X’s face. He was relieved that Annalise had started talking to him again. All she needed was some space (and some copies of his phone records and internet history to confirm that X hadn’t been seeing any other girls).

X made his way over to his girlfriend and sat down in one of the nearby seats. “Hey babe. What’s up?”

“Listen X,” Annalise said as she leaned against the stairwell. “We got to talk about your problem.”

X froze, the breath caught in his throat. “It’s not that big of a deal.” X spat out, his face red with embarrassment. “I’m doing a lot better with the whole sleeping thing.”

Annalise raised her eyebrow in response. “Uh...I mean your  _ brother _ problem.”

_ ‘Oh right,  _ that _.’  _ Truth be told, X had been so focused on all the weirdness going on that he hadn’t even thought about Speed.

It had been a week since that fateful meeting in Spritle’s Office. After the whole surprising reveal, Spritle reassured the boys that they didn’t need to share the news until they were ready. Unfortunately no one realized that Speed’s friend Conor had his robot monkey hack into Spritle’s audio system. This had the side effect of broadcasting the entirety of Spritle’s office conversation over the PA system. So now, Annalise, the twins, and the entire Academy knew about Speed being X’s long lost brother. Great.

“Yeah. It’s pretty messed up. The whole thing feels like some weird cartoon plot.” X shrugged, turning to look at Annalise with soft eyes. “But I’m still me, okay. Just because I may be related to some...dork, that doesn’t change anything between us.” 

Before Annalise could respond, she was interrupted by the arrival of Jared and Jesse, who had somehow managed to sneak up on the couple.

“Hey X.” Jesse said as he plopped down on the bench next to X. “Good luck today.”

X tilted his head. “Good luck with what?”

Jared leaned forward and rested his elbow on top of his brother’s head. “In the Sharp Mountain Speedway. Duh.” Jesse grunted and pushed his sibling off his head, causing the other blond haired teen to fall to the ground, before chiming in again. “Seriously dude, you’ve been living under a rock or something?” 

X blinked, his eyes widening. Of course, he had signed up the second the race had been announced. Had he really forgotten about that too. X really needed to pull himself together; he had a reputation to uphold.

“What’s the point of such a dumb race anyway?” Annalise snarked, causing X to look at her a slightly hurtful expression.

“I mean, it’s not like you need the unlimited car parts.” Annalise clarified. “You already have the funding and sponsors to get all the parts you need.” 

“I don’t care about the parts.” X answered with a shrug. “I just care about winning.”

The twins heads perked up, their interest in the conversation being piqued. “So like what are you going to do with them? Build a waterslide?” Jessie questioned. “Or a roller coaster?” Jared followed up, before being interrupted by his other twin. “Or a water slide roller coaster? Or a-”

“NO! I’m not doing any of that!” X shouted, drawing a few concerned stares from some passerby students (though they quickly returned to their own business). For some reason X found the twin’s antics far more annoying than he usually did.

Annalise’s eyes narrowed. “He’d probably give them to  _ Speed _ .” Her tone was laced with a noticeable venom.

“What, no.” X scoffed. “Believe me, Speed is the last person I’d be giving the parts to.”

For the past week, Spritle had been encouraging X to reach out to Speed, hopeful that two would form a newfound sibling relationship. But even if Speed was actually X’s brother...did it really change anything? The two had only known each other for about a week, and most of their interactions were arguments.

Annalise raised her eyebrow. “Really? Then what are you going to do with them.”

“I don’t know. Sell them on eBay maybe?” X answered honestly, only to earn yet another skeptical glare from Annalise. “I’ll think of something.”

“So X, since you don’t need the parts.” Jesse began, scratching the back of his head. “I have this...friend that could really use the extra parts.”

Jared’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Yeah X, I could really use parts!”

Jesse elbowed Jared in the stomach. “Not you, nimrod! I meant  _ me _ !”

“What!” Jared shouted while clutching his injured side. “You meanie! I need those parts more than  _ you _ !”

And once again, the twins had launched into one of their never-ending arguments, completely forgetting that they both drove the same car.

A sharp scowl formed on Annalise’s face. “Oh for the love of- come on you too!” Annalise marched over and pulled on the twins by their ears, yanking them away from X.

Once the trio had rounded a corner, X got up from his chair to go check on the Shooting Star.

  
  
  


**_ǎ̶͇́̈̾́̍â̵̛̱͓̗̤̈́̃̋̆͆̒̇̔͊̅͑̑̚a̵͙̋ạ̸̝̦͍͍͓a̸̡̗̩̬͚̝̥̤̱͊͆͛̑̐̎͊͒̉̈́̕h̶̺͕̞̪̬̠̆͆̅̓̌͌̌̅̌̓̐̓̕ḩ̸̬͈̞̭̘̹̩̬̭̝͑͋͛h̵̡̢̛͈̯̟̯̖̰͚͙̩͂̑͋̾̈́͌̒̂͜͝h̴̢͕̰͇̩̩͉̝͙̾̈̊̀͗̌̋̕̚͜͝ḥ̷̮̬̺̮͎̬̩̬͎̮͎͊͗͐̇͝ͅ!̸̨͚͒͐̃̊̀́̔̓͗͒͝_ **

  
  
  


X nearly stumbled and clutched his head. It felt as though he had been hit by a semi truck. And...was that a scream he just heard? X turned his head around the hall, but found no one. Shrugging his suspicions off, the teen left to prepare for the race.

* * *

“Dammit! Why didn’t Annalise tell me that X was racing today!” Zile fumed, pacing back and forth in front of the large screen positioned in his office. 

Said screen in question was showing footage from a hidden camera in one of the twin’s jackets (Zile couldn’t remember which one). The footage in question was far from steady as Annalise violently dragged the twins behind her. In the background the sound of Annalise’s voice yelling mixed in with the twin’s obnoxious complaining. Despite the shaky footage, the screen showed Zile’s primary target: X Racer.

When Annalise revealed that to Zile that she had started dating, he had become a little overprotective. And by overprotective, Zile immediately made plans to create a surveillance team to watch over the new couple. That is where Jared and Jesse came in.

The twins hadn’t been Zile’s first choice (far,  _ far _ from it), but somehow they were the only ones that could get close to the couple without raising suspicion. Those two had been easily convinced into becoming Zile’s personal surveillance detail (their price was a ‘lifetime supply of Hot Pockets’).

Zile slunk down into his chair and hit the mute button before their incessant noise gave him a migraine. “Now that brat Speed is one step closer to building the Mach 6.”

“But boss.” Stan scratched his head. “Didn’t X just say he wasn’t gonna give the parts to Speed?” It was a rather smart question, a rarity from the large buffoon. And under other circumstances, Stan would actually be correct. 

But Zile knew better than to take things at face value. “It’s too many loose ends to leave hanging. The last thing I need is for X to win those parts and have his foolish uncle convince him to donate the parts to his stupid brother as a ‘show of good faith’.” Zile gritted his teeth, nearly gagging on those final four words.

Stan’s eyes widened as his mind slowly processed the words. “Oh. What are you thinking Mr. Z?”

Zile reached into his desk and pulled out a small walkie talkie. “Lead a team into Speed’s garage and scavenge whatever parts you can gather from the Mach 5.” Zile drummed his fingers together, a sinister smirk forming on his face. “That should put a stop to those brats’ plan to rebuild the Mach 6.”

“Sure thing boss.” Stan grabbed the walkie talkie off the wooden desk. “What about X?”

A dark look passed over Zile’s face. “Make sure he loses today’s race. Tell them to make it look like an accident.”

“Okay.” Stan said, a dopey grin crossed his face; he was completely oblivious to Zile’s darker intentions. “I’ll steal X and make Speed have an accident.”

“No Stan. Steal everything in  _ Speed’s  _ garage so he can never build the Mach 6 and cause X to have an ‘accident’ so he loses the race.”

“You got it Mr. Z!” Stan saluted and promptly left through a small door to the right. Sounds of frantic knocking could be heard on the other side of the door. “Boss help! The world’s become dark and tiny!” 

Zile facepalmed. “That’s the  _ closet _ Stan!”

The large man opened the door and awkwardly stepped out. “Oops.” Stan said with a sheepish expression. “Sorry Mr. Z.” With that, Stan made his way out the door (the correct one this time).

Zile turned his office chair and reactivated the screen feed. This time, the image showed the starting line for the Shatter Mountain Speedway. Zile leaned back, ready to watch the upcoming race. He’d finally crush that damn Racer family once and for all.

* * *

“How are we doing?” Speed grunted. 

Conor poked his head over the large piece of metal. “Okay. A little to your left- no right, right. Now up a bit. Okay, now put it down.”

Speed lowered the Mach 5 hood in tandem with Conor on top of the engine. 

“We did it!” Conor threw his hands up in the air.

“Yeah. We did.” Speed said half heartedly.

Over the past week, Speed, Conor, Lucy, and Chim-Chim had worked tirelessly to reassemble the Mach 5. The good news is that they managed to reassemble the various parts into a shape that at least resembled a car. 

Though the likelihood of getting it back up and running again would be one out of a billion. 

“Don’t worry Speed.” Conor said with a reassuring smile. “Chim-Chim and I will get this car working again in no time.” Connor slapped a hand on top of the mangled hood; the front axle rod fell to the ground with a loud metallic thud. “I can fix that.”

Chim-Chim hobbled over and hugged Speed’s right leg. 

“Hey. Don’t forget I’m here too.” Lucy said to Conor, lugging over a large tool box and placed it next to the Mach 5. She then turned to Speed, looking at him with soft eyes. “Speed, it isn’t the end of the world yet. Maybe the professors will accept extra homework in exchange for driving assignments.” Lucy placed a hand upon Speed’s shoulder. “It’s a long shot but hopefully they’ll understand.”

Speed felt his face flushing, a small smile forming on his face.

Suddenly a loud beeping noise sounded throughout the garage. 

Conor pulled out his phone and turned off what appeared to be a timer. “Oh boy it’s time!” Chim-Chim finally let go of Speed’s leg and rushed over to Conor, climbing on the orange haired teen’s back.

“Time for what?” Speed asked.

“The Sharp Mountain Speedway!” Conor shouted, his eyes beaming with excitement. “You coming!”

A pit formed in Speed’s stomach. “You guys go on ahead.” The teen shifted his stance awkwardly. “I got some...school work I need to do.”

Conor’s face dropped. “Aww. Why do teachers give out so much homework before races?” Suddenly, Conor’s eyes lit back up again. “Wait, I’ll help you out, we’ll get that work done in no ti- Oof.” Conor was interrupted by an elbow to the stomach, courtesy of Lucy. 

“Conor. I know how much you like to help, but I think this is something Speed needs to work on  _ individually _ .” Lucy looked at Speed with a sympathetic expression. “Listen Speed. If you ever need anything, we’re here for you.”

Conor nursed his injured stomach, his eyes widening slightly; he finally picked up on what Speed and Lucy were actually talking about. “Yup. I’ll always be there for you buddy.” Conor said, giving Speed a thumbs up. “Unless it’s after 8:30 because that’s my bedtime.” He added, causing him to get a disapproving look from Lucy.

Chim-Chim warbled a response and also gave Speed a thumbs up. 

“Thanks.” Speed rubbed the back of his head. “I really appreciate it.”

“Come on Conor.” Lucy grunted, nudging Conor towards the door. 

“Oh wait.” Conor turned around and pulled something out of his pocket.

Speed could see it was a small rectangular chip; the same chip that Speed pulled from the Mach 5 wreck around a week ago. “The Mach 6 plans?” Speed asked.

“Yup. Each week we’ll alternate who keeps it.” Conor placed the chip into Speed’s hand. “This week is your turn.”

Speed took the plans from Conor and put them into his pocket. “Got it.” The brunette looked back at Conor, noticing the usually energetic teen had a slightly sad expression. “I’ll see if I can make it to the race.” Speed said in an attempt to cheer the other teen up.

Conor looked at Speed with a mile wide smile, his face beaming. “You better! It’ll be awesome! We’ll get front row seats! And we’ll get snacks! And-”

“Okay Conor.” Lucy cut the boy off and began dragging him towards the door. “I think Speed’s got the message.”

Despite Conor’s protests, Lucy managed to pull both him and Chim-Chim out of the garage.

Finally, Speed was alone. The teen walked over to a chair and sat down at a nearby desk.

He sighed.  _ ‘How did it all turn out like this?’  _ Speed mused, absentmindedly pushing Conor’s model Mach 5 back and forth across the desk.

For his whole life Speed longed for a family. As a young child Speed dreamed of his parents coming to pick him up from the orphanage and take him home. Growing up, that dream had slowly begun to burn out, being reduced to cooled embers.

Now, through some weird coincidences, he had actually found his. 

And it was far from what he expected.

As it turned out, his father was none other than the legendary driver Speed Racer. Prior to that reveal, he was just an outcast newbie at the Academy. Now every student wanted to become friends with the “long lost son of Speed Racer”. Headmaster Spritle, or rather Uncle Spritle, did at least promise to help Speed with anything he needed (though getting a working car was still out of the question).

Then there was X, his brother. There were many times where Speed tried to reach out to his brother (it still felt so weird to say that) but always backed out last minute.  _ ‘What do I even say to him?’  _ He certainly didn’t make a good first impression by taking X’s father-  _ their  _ father’s car and smashing it to pieces. 

_ CLANG! _

The toy car fell from the desk and clattered onto the floor, shattering Speed’s train of thought. The car rolled underneath the desk toward the car. 

“Dang it.” Speed got out from his chair and crawled under the desk. 

Just then, the creaking noise of a door opening filled the air, shortly followed by a set of footsteps.

Speed was about to respond, till his ears detected the sound of multiple heavy footsteps joining the first. It wasn’t just one person coming in; it was a large group. 

“What?” Speed whispered under his breath. Slowly, Speed turned around, remaining hidden under the desk. From his limited view, Speed could see several people dressed in navy and gray army gear. Their heads were covered by thick black helmets; the only thing visible were their eyes. They looked a lot like a private security team.

As soon as they entered the garage, the group split into two sets. One set was currently rummaging through various cabinets and drawers, inspecting the various components before tossing them to the floor. The other set were nabbing parts from the pile of broken Mach 5 parts and carrying them out of the garage. Speed poised his body, ready to burst out from under his desk and demand these people to leave. He froze when his eyes caught sight of the guns strapped to their holsters.

**_“ThE_ ** **pLaNS** **_aReN’t_ ** **hERe** **_.”_ ** One of them called out. The voice was definitely male, but it sounded heavily distorted, as if he was speaking heavily through a voice modifier.

_ ‘The plans?’ _ Speed frowned, before his eyes widened in realization.  _ ‘Wait, do they mean the Mach 6?’  _ Speed clutched his hand protectively around his pocket. 

**_“HEy, WhAT aBoUt thIS?_ ** ” A second individual questioned, carrying a piece of metal. 

**_“THat’S jUSt a PiEcE Of JunK.”_ ** The first person scoffed.

**_“BuT It loOKs LikE A bUnnY.”_ ** The second person held out the item earnestly.

The first individual took a closer look at the metal object.  **_“Oh wOw iT dOEs.”_ ** The figure commented in an enthusiastic tone.  **_“LEt’s tAkE iT WitH Us.”_ **

Speed tilted his head.  _ ‘Okay seriously, who the heck are these guys?’  _ Speed moved his head in an attempt to get a better look at the intruders, but quickly ducked his head at the sound of approaching footsteps. A pair of legs stopped roughly three feet away from Speed’s hiding spot.

Although Speed couldn’t see the person’s face, he could see that the person was  _ massive _ . Seriously, their torso was about as wide as the Mach 5. Speed watched the person’s sausage sized fingers reach into their pocket and pull out a small radio.  **_“THiS is PapA BeAR tO BaBY BeaR.”_ ** The titanic man spoke into the walkie talkie.  **_“Do yOu CoPY? WhAt’s yOUr StAtUs?”_ **

**_“ThE DeVIcE hAs BeeN iNStalLEd SiR.”_ ** A voice said on the other side of the radio.  **_“ThE mOMeNt X acTIvaTEs hIs NiTRo BooSTErs, HiS wHOle cAr WilL ExPlOdE.”_ **

_ ‘Wait what!’ _ Speed’s jaw dropped with a silent gasp.  _ ‘These people are actually going to kill X!’ _

**_“WaiT? WOn’t tHAt HurT?”_ ** The large man questioned, sounding genuinely concerned.

**_“NaH.”_ ** The other person responded with a casual tone. **_ThE blASt wiLL bE InStAnTaNeOuS. I dOUbT tHEre WilL Be mUCh oF tHe KiD LeFt At tHAt PoInT.”_ **

Speed covered his mouth to prevent himself from gagging at the mental image that statement conjured up.

**_“BeSIdeS,”_ ** The person on the radio continued. **_“ThE bOSs SaiD tO mAKe iT lOOk LikE aN aCCidENt.”_ **

The larger man shifted his stance, processing the other person’s words.  **_“WeLL, tHe BosS dId sAY ThAt. At leASt I tHInk hE DiD.”_ **

**_“LOOk wE goTTA Go.”_ ** The voice on the other end said abruptly.  **_“X is heAding INto hIS GAraGE NOw. OveR ANd Out.”_ **

**_“Okay, ByE-BYe.”_ ** The large man deactivated the radio, before turning his attention back to the large group in the garage. **_“ALriGhT. eVErYBody mOve OuT.”_ **

With that, the intruders followed their leader back through the garage door, finally leaving.

Speed remained motionless under the desk for what felt like an eternity. His heart was palpitating; these people were actually planning to  _ kill  _ X. Yes true, Speed wasn’t exactly on the best of terms with X, but he didn’t want the guy dead.

“I gotta warn X!” Speed got out from under the desk and rushed out the door. The long row of garages blurred by as Speed ran to save his brother. Fortunately for him, the track wasn’t that far from the garage. Turning the bend, Speed managed to get a brief glimpse of X walking into the Track’s main entrance.

“X!” Speed called out frantically, racing towards the opening. “I need to talk to you!”

The teen‘s run came to a screeching halt as someone pulled him by the arm. Speed jerked his head, coming face to face with a Track security guard.

“Woah, buddy.” The guard let go of Speed’s arm, stepping in front of the fidgeting teen. “Spectators are not allowed on the track.”

“But I gotta talk to X!” Speed quickly stepped to his left, attempting to bypass the guard.

But the guard once again blocked Speed’s path. A deep frown formed on his face. “It will have to wait.” The guard pointed his finger to his right. “In the meantime, please head to the stands.”

Speed was about to argue, but he caught a glimpse of the guard’s cold stare; convincing the guard was not an option. 

Reluctantly, Speed backed down and walked towards the stand stairwell.  _ ‘What am I supposed to do now?’  _ Speed felt a pit form in his stomach as he continued to ascend.

Getting off the stairwell, Speed caught a glimpse of a familiar dark skinned girl scolding an energetic orange haired kid with a robot monkey. “Guys!” Speed ran over to his two friends.

Conor was the first to spot Speed, his eyes brightening. “Speed! You came-”

“Some people broke into our garage and stole the Mach 5 parts!” Speed blurted out.

“What!” Conor shrieked, drawing the confused stares of nearby students.

Lucy pursed her lips, tilting her head. “Are you okay? What did they take?”

“I’m fine.” Speed answered bluntly before continuing: “They took a couple of spare parts, and a piece of metal that looked like a rabbit-”

“THEY TOOK MR. SCRAP BUNNY!” Conor screamed, grabbing tufts of orange hair. Chim-Chim mirrored his owner’s reaction, placing his hands against his face in cartoonish shock.

“There’s more. They’re going to blow up X’s car!” Speed frantically explained.

_ “WHAT!”  _ Conor shrieked again, waving his arms widely in the air; and again, Chim-Chim mimicked his creator’s actions. “We gotta warn him!” 

“I tried to get to him.” Speed said, trying to gain control over his breathing. “Security won’t let spectators go to the racetrack.”

Lucy placed a hand over her mouth, her brows furrowed. Suddenly she snapped her fingers. “I’ve got an idea. We can contact him through the Track control panel.” Lucy started to run back towards the stairwell. “Come on!” Lucy called back to the other two teens, motioning for them to follow her. 

Conor and Speed quickly took off after her. As the trio ran down to the Track, Speed silently prayed that they wouldn’t be too late to save his brother.

* * *

X took a deep shaky breath, adjusting his racing jacket collar for the upteenth time. Normally, X was rather relaxed in the Shooting Star. Today was a different story. The leather seats felt oddly irritating; almost like sitting on pincushions. The seatbelt was cutting into X’s skin. And the surrounding metal interior felt almost suffocating. All in all, X didn’t feel comfortable at all; he felt  _ trapped _ .

The teen shook his head.  _ ‘Damn it X. Get a hold of yourself. It's just nerves.’ _

_ DING! _

A loud noise broke X out of his thoughts. Jerking his head up, X saw the holographic starting light glow red; the race would be starting any second.

_ DING! _

The light shifted from red to yellow.

X shook his head and firmly gripped the steering wheel.  _ ‘Head in the game X. Keep your head in the game.’ _

_ GO! _

X pressed his foot on the accelerator. The Shooting Star shot out from the starting line. As always, X maneuvered his car into first place.

One by one, each car passed through the entrance to the Virtual Track. 

Despite being a virtual construct, Sharp Mountain was a breathtaking sight to behold. The structure was massive, probably three times the size of the Academy. Patches of white covered the upper portions of the mount. Perhaps the most defining feature was the jagged point at the top.

Any newbie driver would likely feel a sense of dread driving in such a location. But X was far from a newbie; he was the son of Speed Racer after all.

X rounded the first turn of the course, shaking off the remaining feelings of apprehension. This race would be smooth sailing.

A sudden pinging noise broke X out of his concentration; his com system was turning on.

“Wha?” Before X could question who was trying to call him, he soon got his answer. A familiar brown haired, blue eyed teen popped up on the screen. It was Speed.

“X? Can you hear me?” Although Speed’s voice was distorted by slight static, it did not mitigate the worried tone in his voice.

“How did you get on my com?” X demanded, narrowing his eyes at the holographic display.  _ ‘I don’t have time for this!’ _

“You need to listen to me.” Speed stated. “Someone has put a bomb in your car. If you activate your Nitro Boosters, your car will explode! You need to drop out!”

X grunted. “Can you save the story time for later. I’m kinda in the middle of-” X was cut off by a sudden jolt courtesy of another student’s car. “Something.” X pressed the accelerator and instantly pulled ahead. The other car, which had gone to knock X’s car again, was caught off guard and crashed into the mountain. With a bright flash of light, the car was removed from the Track and transported back into the real world.

“And for your information, I can’t just ‘drop out’. If I do that, I’d lose my sponsors and my reputation.” X spat and glared daggers at his little brother. “So whatever this little ‘bomb’ stunt of yours is, it has to stop!”

At that moment, another car crept along the right of the Shooting Star, preparing to take the lead. X jerked the steering wheel and knocked his car directly into the other student’s car. The impact sent the other car skidding, causing them to get kicked out of the Track.

“X, I’m  _ not  _ lying.” Speed pleaded, a pained look shown in his eyes. “You need to be careful. Any sudden jolt could set off the bomb.”

_ “There is no bomb!” _ X shouted, his frustration finally boiling over. In a swift motion X reached out his arm to activate his Nitro Boosters. 

Except he couldn’t. 

The second X reached out his hand, his head started pounding. Scratch that, it felt like a series of claws were scraping the inside of his skull. 

“Gah!” X jerked his hand back to clutch at his head. His other hand gripped tightly on the steering wheel, barely managing to control the Shooting Star. 

**_ļ̷̘̮̻̳̬͐̄̓͝ỉ̶̞̗̅s̵̱̈́̍.̷͓̱͗̊̈́͛̒͝.̸̧̩̮͉̬͂͑̾͘͝ͅ.̵̢̲̰͛t̴̛͍̬͙̦̠͍̏̈́̔̄͘e̷͖̹͇͎̔͊ͅn̸͍͎̖̺̩̮̓̎̈́̂̓_ **

X winced as the pounding in his head continued. “X?” A concerned voice rang out. Was that Speed talking?

**_L̶͇̾͛͘i̴̾̔̊ͅs̸̪̗̣̬͐̅̑͠͝t̶̙͎͒͘͠ë̵̙̲͉̮̹́n̵̞̞͖̈́̑_ **

The pain in X’s skull intensified. The headache; was it... _ talking _ to him?

**_L̷͇͑Ȋ̸̬S̵͍̿ͅT̶̠͌E̶͉̊N̸͚͚͋ ̸̨̉͠T̴̡͈̈́O̵̧̯͂̐ ̷̳̹͝Ḩ̷͓̈͝I̴̹͎̊͐Ḿ̶̳̥͋!̴̗͉̍͝_ **

Suddenly the headache was gone and X could finally focus on the road. Right in time to see the mountainside fast approaching.

“Shit!” X frantically turned the steering wheel, barely managing to avoid colliding with the solid rock. 

The good news, X hadn’t crashed. The bad news is that his headache caused him to lose track of the other cars. X turned his head to the front and saw that there were  _ six  _ cars in front of them.

“Dammit!” X smacked his fist against the steering wheel.

“X! Are you okay?!” Speed exclaimed.

“Okay fine there is a bomb in my Nitro Boosters!” X finally admitted, taking a series of shaky breaths. “But what am I supposed to do? I already told you I can’t drop out.” X tried to move forward, but found himself blocked by two of the cars. 

“I already have a plan for you.” At that moment, Speed’s friend Lucy suddenly appeared on the screen. “In 200 feet there is a shortcut on your left that will allow you to cut in front of the pack.”

As X reached to adjust his gear, he paused. “Wait. If this shortcut works, why doesn’t everyone else use it?”

Lucy gave a slight shrug. “They’re afraid of the jump.”

X stiffened. “Jump! I thought you said any sudden jolt could set off the bomb!”

“X you’re the best driver there is. If anyone could pull off this jump, it’s you.” Speed said ernstly.

X blinked, genuinely taken aback by Speed’s support. He had shown nothing but disdain and disinterest in his younger brother, and yet here he was cheering X on?

“Hurry!” Lucy’s voice rang out, jolting X back into reality. “You’ll miss your turn!”

In his peripheral, X could see the shortcut entrance. It was a small cave opening tucked into the mountainside. X jerked the steering wheel, just managing to make the turn.

Unlike the main track, the shortcut was rather narrow; there was barely a foot between the Shooting Star and the cave wall. 

In a few seconds X had reached a small clearing. “Huh?” X’s eyes quickly scanned the spot before they caught a glimpse of another hole. Twisting the steering wheel, X immediately entered the other chasm. Up ahead, X could see daylight; he assumed this is where the ‘jump’ would come in. 

“You need to go faster X or you’ll never make the jump!” Lucy shouted, her brows furrowed. 

X slammed his foot on the accelerator. “The pedal is jacked! This better work!”

“Good luck.” Speed bit his lip and stared at X with a worried expression. 

“Luck’s for losers.” X scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

Now when X had heard the word jump, he expected for it to be around twenty five feet. He did  _ not  _ expect for it to be  _ fifty feet _ . X could see Speed’s mouth moving, but he couldn’t hear the words. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and braced for impact.

_ THUMP! _

After what felt like an eternity. X landed back on the main track; somewhat shaken, but otherwise okay. More importantly, he was back in first place

Better yet the finish line was fast approaching.

X floored the accelerator, speeding towards the Track exit. In the span of a few seconds, he crossed the finish line.

Underneath his helmet a dopey smile spread across X’s face.

He did it. He won.

X pulled the Shooting Star into the loading station and stopped in front of the winner’s platform. X got out from his car and walked up a set of nearby stairs.

_ FLASH! _

The second X stepped onto the platform, a bright flash of light occurred. This singular flash was quickly joined in by a series of identical flashes. 

To most people, the sporadic light show could be considered overwhelming or anxiety inducing. To X, on the other hand, he couldn’t be happier. He had always relished in the attention. It was his favorite part of any race (besides the actual driving of course).

“Mr. Racer.” A male’s voice snapped X back into reality.

X turned his head to see a man in a nicely dressed suit standing at the far end of the platform. “I believe that this is yours.” In his hands was black and white checkered certificate.

X wasted no time and grabbed the certificate. In bright red letters it read: UNLIMITED CAR PARTS. True, X didn’t really need the parts; he already had sponsors to cover that. But it was the prize of the race. And he  _ earned  _ it. 

“Thanks.” X responded enthusiastically.

“Of course.” A wide almost sinister smile spread across the man’s face. “The best parts for my best  _ Rider _ .”

X’s body froze; his body screamed at him to run. A wave of familiarity washed over X, yet he couldn’t say he had seen the man before. X didn’t know why but he felt there was something... _ off _ about the man. 

Pulling himself together, X somehow managed to smile at the flashing cameras before quickly walking off the platform. 

X nearly tripped while rushing down the stairs but managed to catch himself on the stairwell’s railing. He was breathing irregularly.  _ ‘Damn it. What the hell X?’ _ X shook his head.  _ ‘You can’t just get freaked out by some weird feeling.’  _ Slowly, X let go of the railing. 

Out of the corner of X’s eye a certain trio caught his attention: it was Speed, who was talking with both Conor and Lucy.

“Speed.” X called out, attempting to get his brother’s attention.

Speed twisted his head over in X’s direction. “Hey! Glad that you are safe.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this…” X swallowed. “But, thanks.”

Suddenly Conor pulled X into a tight bearhug. “No, thank you, bro.”

“Not  _ you _ .” X shook Conor off, before turning his attention back towards Speed. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Speed tilted his head. “Uh...sure.”

With that the brothers walked away from Conor and Lucy. As he continued to walk, a question began buzzing around X’s head. Finally it came out: “Why did you help me today?” X abruptly shifted to face Speed.

Speed blinked a few times. “Well, I know we didn’t start off on the right foot.” Speed awkwardly shuffled his feet. “But, we’re brothers after all. And...well…” Speed paused, apparently trying to search for the right words. “Brothers need to look out for each other.”

For once X was speechless. Throughout his whole life, X had been the one and only son of Speed Racer Sr.. The only one in the spotlight. The only one honoring the legacy of his father. Now though...things were different. Now there was someone else. But...was that truly a bad thing?

Speed swallowed. “Well...I guess I’ll see you around then.” The other teen turned and started to walk away. 

As X watched Speed leave, a knot formed in his stomach; with each step Speed took, the knot grew tighter and tighter. And then, the knot snapped. “Speed wait.” X rushed over to his brother and handed him the certificate. “Here.”

Speed’s eyes widened. “The Unlimited Car Parts. But I-”

“Look, taking dad’s car for yourself was a dick move. But if it weren’t for you today, I’d doubt I’d still be here.” X took a deep breath. “So do me a favor, use that and build yourself a new car. That way, we can finally settle which one of us is the better driver.”

Speed looked at X with a sheepish smile. “Thanks. I think.” Again, Speed walked away from X, but with much more energy in his step.

A small smile formed on X’s face as he watched Speed reunite with Conor and Lucy.  _ ‘Maybe having a little brother isn’t so bad after all.’ _

However, had X not been so caught up in his own thoughts, perhaps he would have been more observant. Perhaps his peripheral vision would have spotted a team of individuals sneakily approaching his car. Perhaps his ears would have picked up on the sound of his car hood being opened at a metal part being removed. 

But by the time X returned back to the Shooting Star, the mysterious team had long since disappeared. 

* * *

_ 15 minutes after the conclusion of the Sharp Mountain Speedway... _

“One. Job.” Zile seethed in his chair, barely containing his anger. “I gave you  _ idiots  _ one job.”

The idiots in question stood in front of Zile's desk, all of whom were panting heavily. They had run all the way from the Track back to Zile’s tower. One of the goons held a heavy cylindrical device in his hands; it was the bomb that was placed in X’s car. The bomb that was  _ supposed  _ to be in a million pieces right now.

“But...sir.” The mook holding the bomb responded through heavy breathing. “W...we put the bomb...to blow up X...like you told us” 

“Does he  _ look  _ blown up to you!” Zile violently pointed to the large screen in his office. Said screen was currently showing footage of X smiling and waving to the photographers.

“But X did blow up today Mr. Z.” Stan chimed in, his large fingers clumsily pressing some buttons on his phone. “His popularity is blowing up like crazy.” Stan poised the phone in front of Zile. The screen displayed various school social media pages, all discussing X’s big win.

Zile glared daggers at the lumbering oaf. “Get out.”

“Aww.” Stan’s arms fell limply to his sides. Suddenly, a wide smile crossed Stan’s face as a dim light bulb went off in his head. “I know what will cheer you up boss, why don’t you watch Disco Dancing Kitty’s newest video.” Stan once again pointed his phone screen at Zile, showing a cat bobbing up and down to peppy disco music. “He’s way more popular than X.” Stan and the rest of the goons grouped around the phone to watch the video, completely oblivious to their boss seething with anger.

Suddenly, Zile abruptly got out of the chair and slammed his hands on his desk.  _ “OUT!”  _ Zile shouted, fire shown in his eyes.

Stan and the goons ran out of the room like a herd of startled rabbits. 

At the sound of the door slamming, Zile slunk back into his chair. “I swear.” Zile gritted his teeth. “I swear I’ll destroy that  _ damn  _ car if it's the last thing I ever do!”

* * *

_ Later that night… _

The night time desert was an eerie place. Harsh, cold winds cut through the rocky terrain. Large vertical rocks cast ominous shadows across the landscape. Only the pale moonlight provided any form of lighting in the dark landscape. A sense of stillness hung in the air.

The peace and quiet was shattered as a large beast rushed through the desert, ripping up dirt in its wake. When Lucifer finally allowed the rest of the demons to leave the cave, Crimson Claw ran out like a bat- er, wolf -out of hell. 

Suddenly, Crimson Claw came to a screeching halt and started sniffing the surrounding area. Numerous smells permeated Crimson Claw’s nose, most of which came from several prey animals. But for once, Crimson was not focused on any of that.

Crimson Claw bent down lower onto the ground to better differentiate the various scents.  _ “Yip!” _ The wolf demon flinched as a sharp pain shot through his arm. Over the past couple of days, the limb had refused to heal; the singmarks were still visible and a series of burns marked the flesh.

Crimson Claw scowled as his mind shifted back to that night; he knew who was to blame. 

At that moment a new scent entered Crimsons Claw’s nose, which was different from all the others. There was something familiar about it. Twitching his nose, Crimson Claw could detect faint traces of sulfur within the scent.

Yes, it was him. 

Crimson Claw took off in hot pursuit of the scent. Despite the pain in his arm Crimson Claw continued running, hellbent on destroying the one responsible for his injury. The wolf demon only stopped when he reached a steep cliff.

In the distance, Crimson Claw could see a large vertical structure. The structure was very tall and was in the shape of a rectangle. Along the sides were a series of bluish squares.

Crimson Claw grunted and bared his fangs. He could care less about whatever the structure was; all that mattered was that the Rider was there. 

Crimson Claw took off down the cliff, barreling towards the large formation. 

Tonight, there would be no escape for the Rider. Tonight, the Ghost Rider would die.

* * *

“Okay. Pull yourself together X.” The teen muttered to himself, gripping his hands on the counter. 

It had been several hours since the Sharp Mountains Speedway. The last traces of sunlight were slowly slipping under the horizon. Normally after a racing victory X would be out celebrating, whether it be at a restaurant, school party, or spending some alone time with Annalise. 

Instead, X was standing alone in front of the locker room mirror. A lone fluorescent light served as his only light source. X hadn’t even bothered to change out of his racing colors.

There was too much weighing in X’s mind for him to enjoy himself.

X had already come to terms with the whole ‘long lost sibling reveal’. 

Though that was only the tip of the iceberg in X’s long list of issues. First came the weird dreams. Second was the sleepwalking. And now he was hearing voices. 

_ ‘What’s next hallucination? _ ’ X bowed his head, staring down at his hands.  _ ‘Jesus what if someone finds out about this. Would they think I’m crazy? That I need to be locked up. What would Annalise think? What would Uncle Spritle think? What would Da-’ _

“No, don't think that.” X chided himself, swiping some sweat off his brow. 

“You’re cool. You’re awesome. Yo-You’re h-hot.” X swallowed, stuttering on the last sentence. A sudden hot flash coursed through his entire body; it was as if someone ignited a fire within his body. “Oh God I’m actually hot right now.” X threw off his racing colors and started fanning himself. 

Except X didn’t feel like he was cooling off; if anything, his frantic motions only exacerbated the growing heat. Sweat was now dripping off X’s body. 

X’s fingers frantically fumbled with the faucet taps, releasing a torrent of water into the sink tub. Not wasting time, X splashed the water onto his body. The cold water provided some relief to the intense burning sensation.

X breathed a shaky sigh of relief. “Did someone turn off the AC or som-” The rest of X’s sentence got stuck in X’s throat when caught a glimpse of his arms. 

They were smoking. And not in the ‘smokin hot that girls will throw themselves at him’ sense. ‘Smoking’ as in  _ there was literal steam and smoke pouring out of them _ . 

X’s eyes widened. “What the f-” Suddenly, X was engulfed in a bright flash of orange light. 

And pain. Dear God, the pain. 

X may have been screaming, but he honestly couldn’t tell. 

All X could feel was a strong scorching heat ravaging his body. It started within his core before quickly expanding throughout the rest of his body. The moment the pain reached his eyes, X vision rapidly faded to black. 

He was drowning. At least, that was the best way he could describe it. He was sinking into darkness, his awareness slowly fading away.

_ ‘No.’ _ Something within X snapped.

X started fighting...whatever this was. Clawing his way back to the surface. Scraping at the fog that threatened to bury him.

As quickly as it began, it was over. 

Slowly, X’s vision finally returned to him and he saw that he was lying on the tile floor. 

Groggily, X began to get up from the hard floor. His body felt oddly numb; he could move his arms just fine, but couldn’t feel the tiles underneath his finger prints. “The hell just hap-”

X clamped a hand over his mouth. That most certainly was  _ not _ his voice. It sounded deeper, and had a much raspier tone to it.

Though X didn’t have much time to focus on his voice as his focus immediately shifted to his hand. The skin looked oddly pale.

X brought his hand to his face. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came up. His hand wasn’t pale, it was  _ bone _ . White, solid bones arranged in the shape of a hand. X stumbled upward, attempting to get away from whatever was on his hand. And that’s when X looked into the mirror.

What he saw was not his usual good looking, handsome, self. No, what he saw was a skeleton. A skeleton wreathed in bright orange, wild flames; two small glowing orbs were located in the skeleton’s eye sockets. 

X raised his right arm. The skeleton thing did the same. Trembling, X slowly lifted his left arm. And once again, the flaming skeleton copied X’s motions perfectly. 

What he saw was a skeletal ribcage with nothing inside. No skin, no blood, no organs, just bare bones. The only thing inside were more of the ungodly flames licking at the inside of his body. 

X let go of his shirt with trembling bony fingers. Despite the lack of lungs, X was breathing heavily. The room started spinning.  _ ‘Nononononononono’  _ X’s body went into autopilot mode, slowly stepping away from the mirror. His mind, on the other hand, had gone into overdrive.  _ ‘It’s a dream. This is a dream. Nothing more than a weird messed up-’  _

Both X’s body and mind came to a screeching halt when his back collided with the wall. 

Except it wasn’t a wall. 

Because walls shouldn’t be breathing. Walls shouldn’t be covered in fur. And walls definitely shouldn’t be growling. 

Slowly, X titled his head upward. 

Standing above the teen was something out of his nightmares. Looking down at X was a monster. Mangled brown fur covered its entire body. Dagger-like teeth gleamed with saliva dripping down from the beast’s ugly maw. Its bright yellow eyes shown with unbridled fury. 

**“GRRRAAAWWW!”** The monster opened its mouth and unleashed a demonic roar.

“AAAAHHHH!” X finally let out the ear piercing scream that had been lodged in his throat. 

The teen bolted away from the monster and rushed to the nearest exit. 

_ CRASH! _

X barely had enough time to exit the locker room before the large monster burst through the door behind him.

Of course, the locker rooms were located on the far end of the Academy campus. The only thing standing between X and safety was about 50 yards of exposed asphalt.

_ SMASH! _

X tumbled and fell hard on the ground below. Landing on his back, the teen saw the giant wolf monster holding the broken door in its massive paws. “Ghost Rider...hurt...Crimson.” A guttural voice emerged from the creature’s mouth.

The fiery orbs in X’s sockets widened; he had no idea this thing could actually  _ speak _ .

“Ghost...Rider...DIE!” The beast lifted the door above its head ready to swing it down on X.

_ SMASH! _

_‘Shit!’_ X rolled to the side, the door missing him by a hair’s width. Not wasting time, X got back up and once again began to run. “BAD DOGGIE! BAD DOGGIE!” X screamed behind him at the large monster attempting to dodge the makeshift door weapon.“HEEL! SIT! STAY! STOP!”

“DIE!” The wolf beast roared, swinging the door at X. 

Again, X tumbled to the ground. It was a thin metal rod of some sort. Thinking quickly, X turned and threw the rod at the monster. “FETCH!”

_ SHINK! _

“AAAARRRWWWOO!” The monster howled.

The wolf creature didn’t catch the pipe with its mouth. Instead, the pipe ended up directly in the beast’s  _ eye _ . It clawed around with its hands widely as it attempted to remove the rod.

X scrambled back up to his feet, ready to bolt.  _ ‘This is perfect, now I...c _ **_a_ ** _ n... _ **_run?’_ ** X’s head went fuzzy the longer he stood there. Another sensation flowed through X’s skeletal form. But it was not the same pain he experienced earlier. 

No, this was different. 

It was a light, bubbly sensation that spread throughout his body. A series of giggles escaped from X’s bony mouth. These giggles quickly shifted into peels of hysterical laughter.  **_‘Why would I run.’_ **

X charged towards the injured monster. Before the beast could react, X lifted his foot and kicked it right into the beast’s right leg.

_ CRACK! _

The wolf freak again howled in pain and fell to the ground.

Yet another burst of bubbly energy sparked inside of X. He laughed again.  **_“This is the most fun I’ve had since-_ **

_ ‘FUN!’  _ Both of X’s hands slammed to his jawbone. The sudden realization of what he just said hit him like a freight train. He was full-on shaking at this point.

Why would he think this was fun? Why was  _ any _ of this fun?

Unbeknownst to X, the monster had stopped its cries of pain. It’s remaining yellow eye focused directly on the skeletal teen.

X managed to catch a quick glimpse of a large clawed hand before it smacked directly into him.

_ PUNCH! _

Completely blindsided, X was sent skidding across the hard asphalt ground. 

X laid on the ground panting heavily, unable to move. _‘What the hell is happening, this can’t be real, this is_ **_what I’ve waited for for so long. I can’t wait to tear that beast limb from limb_** _-WHAT, NO!’_ X attempted to get up, only to crumple back to the ground. His head was swarming with voices. _‘I gotta get away, I need to_ **_show that mutt no mercy and paint the earth with its blood-_** _’_

_ “ _ NO, STOP IT!” The trembling teen curled up in a ball. He shook his head in a futile attempt to dispel the disturbing thoughts.

Meanwhile, the creature began to get back on its feet. A loud, unearthly growl emanated deep within its throat. The wolf lunged at X’s skull with its wide maw.  _ “GGGRRRAAWW!” _

_ BANG! _

A loud noise suddenly echoed throughout the area.

The monster hung suspended for a few minutes before toppling to the ground.

X flinched as the fallen beast landed next to his feet. A small cloud of dust landed on X’s blue jeans. 

Confused, the teen looked back at the dead creature and noticed more dust flaking off its skin. X’s jawbone dropped as the creature’s remains continued to disintegrate until all that was left was a pile of grey dust.

Looking back up, X came face to face with an old man.

A rather  _ familiar _ looking old man.

_ “YOU!”  _ X exclaimed.

“Hey, kid. Long time no see.” The old man from the cemetery lowered his gun. The old man’s gaze shifted to the large pile of dust in front of him, before turning his focus back to X. “I think you and I need to talk.”

* * *

**_“DAMN IT! THAT STUPID MUTT!”_ **

Lucifer paced rapidly on top of the cliff, his temper threatening to boil over.

“Lucifer!” Blackrose responded in a harsh whisper. “Keep your voice down or they’ll hear you!”

When Crimson Claw left the cave, the two demons stealthily followed. During the course of the last week, Crimson Claw had remained fixated solely on the Ghost Rider. As such, Lucifer deduced that the large dog demon would go out to finally finish the job. It would be a perfect opportunity to watch the wolf monster in action; Lucifer needed to ensure that his “followers” had the strength required to fight off Mephisto’s forces. 

Blackrose had insisted on following as well for reasons Lucifer couldn’t comprehend. The two tracked Crimson Claw to a large cliff, overlooking a large glass building. From their vantage point the two had a perfect view of the entire confrontation. A wicked smile spread across Lucifer’s face while watching the  _ Ghost Rider _ of all beings run around in fear. However, his smile quickly faded when Crimson Claw was shot by the Caretaker.

Suddenly, Lucifer stopped his pacing and started to quickly walk down the cliff.

“Where are you going?” Blackrose hissed.

**“To do what that oversized dog couldn’t do!”** Lucifer called out over his shoulder.

_ “NO!” _ Blackrose rushed forward and blocked Lucifer’s path. “Fighting the Ghost Rider is not wise!”

Lucifer glared down at the female demon.  **“Do you think it's unwise to fight the Rider?”** Lucifer slowly crept closer and closer to Black Rose, till he was right up in her face.  **“Or do you not** **_want_ ** **to fight the Rider?”**

Black Rose did not back down, instead staring at Lucifer with piercing red eyes. “The Rider means  _ nothing _ to me.” Black Rose coldly stated. “Our focus here is to find The Contract,  _ not _ fight the Rider.” 

Blackrose tapped the ground with her toe. From said spot, a small black sprout emerged. “If we lay low, then the Rider shouldn’t pay us any mind. However-”. The sprout climbed upward, twisting around itself several times while several sharp thorns grew from the sides. 

A small flower bud blossomed at the top, which eerily looked like a skull. Blackrose’s fingers gently wrapped around the skull-like flower, caressing it. “Once we have The Contract.” Blackrose’s hand suddenly snapped around the bud, crushing it to smithereens. “We can  _ destroy  _ the Rider.”

A long period of dead silence followed. The two demons continued to stare each other down, neither willing to back down. 

**“Fine.”** Lucifer responded through gritted teeth.  **“Have it your way.”** Lucifer stomped away in frustration. After a few steps, Lucifer stopped and turned his head, eyeing Blackrose with narrow eyes.  **“For now.”** With that, Lucifer marched away from the cliff, leaving Blackrose alone. 

Blackrose once again shifted her gaze back down the cliff side, her eyes focused on the Ghost Rider.  _ “You’ll pay for what you’ve done.” _ Blackrose said venomously, before turning to walk away as well. 

One thing was for certain: if the Ghost Rider continued to interfere, there would be hell on Earth.

* * *

_ The next day… _

“Now students. Today we will be doing a review of some defensive techniques from last year.” Professor Winn said, adjusting one of the two sticks in her hair bun; her black hair reflected the morning sun.

X was sitting in his first class of the day, attempting to focus on Professor Winn’s Defensive Driving class lecture. 

To say that she and Professor Anaskov were like night and day would be an understatement. Unlike Professor Anaskov, who would often criticize/belittle students, Professor Winn would often take a more gentle approach. Though that wasn’t to say that she still couldn’t be strict. 

“Now I know some of you may already be experienced in these maneuvers, but it is important to... _ remind  _ those that may not have been paying attention.” Her narrowed eyes did an aside glance over at Jared and Jesse (who were currently arguing about who was the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle). The two quickly stopped when they realized that Professor Winn was looking at them. 

Shifting her focus away from the twins, Professor Winn navigated her electric wheelchair over to the display screen.

“As you can see here…” As Professor Winn continued speaking, X felt his thoughts drifting to last night.

_ The night before... _

_“What. The. Hell!”_ _Were the first words to come out of X’s jaw. Not his mouth, his_ jaw _. X slammed his bony fingers to his jawbone. To say that speaking felt weird would be an understatement; it was like some puppeteer kept opening and closing X’s jaw whenever he spoke._ ‘What is happening?!?’

_ The old man slung the shotgun over his back and strolled over to the spot where X was sitting. When he got close, the old man bent his legs to look at X. “Hey kid, you okay?” The man asked, his thick white eyebrows drawing together. _

_ X jerked his head to look at the old man and pointed widely at the pile of dust by his feet. “The hell was that thing!”  _

_ The old man looked down at the dust pile and grimaced. “A demon.” The man answered bluntly, sweeping the dust into a burlap bag. “Pretty nasty one too.” _

_ X sat there completely still while his mind was going at light speed.  _ ‘I look like a skeleton freak. Got attacked by some monster. And now this guy is talking about demons. What the hell is happening?’

_ X was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the old man get up and start to walk away. It wasn’t until the man had walked about twenty feet and was heading back to his rundown truck that X finally snapped back to reality.  _

_“Hey wait!”_ _X shot up from the ground_ ** _._** _The old man turned back around to focus on X._ _“You can’t just leave me stuck looking like..._ this! _” X screamed, frantically gesturing to his skeletal body._

_ The man's dark colored eyes continued to stare at the transformed teen for what felt like an eternity. “Wait for morning.” The old man finally responded, tossing the burlap sack into the back of his truck.  _

_ X took off and stood in front of the old man, blocking his path. “What the hell does that mean!” X shouted in a tone that was half angry, half pleading.  _

_ The old man took a deep breath, before placing a hand on X’s flaming shoulder. “Listen kid, I’d stick around to tell you the full story, but I have something to deal with back on my end.” The old man gestured to the sack of dust in his truck. With that, the old man stepped around X and got into his truck. “Just wait till the sun rises, you will be back to normal by then.”  _

_ The man turned the key in the truck ignition and began to drive away. “I’ll keep in touch kid.” The old man called out from the truck as he drove off. _

_ X tried to protest, but by that point the man was far gone. As the cold night air crept into X’s bones, a realization dawned on him. _ ‘I’m all alone.’

_ In a daze and not knowing what else to do, X turned around and wandered back to the locker room building. The teen shuffled alongside the stone wall of the building; a lone lamp provided the only source of protection against the pitch black night. He only stopped when his foot kicked something. Looking down, X could see it was a piece of a broken glass bottle.  _

_ X bent down and picked it up with his skeletal fingers. Once again, he came face to face with that same disturbing visage. The bare white skull of his head was devoid of any features, save for a pair of small fireballs sunken into his eye sockets. Wild orange flames consumed his entire body; though weirdly enough it didn’t seem to hurt. He looked like an absolute nightmare.  _

_X tossed the glass to the side and sunk against the stone wall._ _He hugged his knees tighter._ ‘Am I...going to be stuck like this forever?’

_ The teen sat there in that spot for what felt like an eternity. X squinted when a bright light suddenly hit him in the eyes (er orbs). _

_ The sun was just starting to peak above the horizon; he must have been sitting here all night.  _

_ Once again, X looked back down at his bony arms. His orange eyes widened as he watched a fleshy red substance surround the exposed white bone, extinguishing the orange flames.  _

_ Before X could wonder what was happening now, the fleshy substance was quickly consumed by a paler covering. It was skin.  _

_ Dumbfounded, X looked down at his arms. They looked like they always did. Same skin tone, same muscular physique, and same giant X tattoo on his right arm. As if they had never been flaming skeleton arms a few seconds ago. _

_ Again, X grabbed a small piece of nearby broken glass and looked at it. Staring back was a teen with short brown hair, hazel eyes, and slightly tan skin; his _ normal  _ reflection. Not wasting time, the teen rushed back over to the Academy, hoping to forget the surrealness of the night. _

_ Though a nagging thought still buzzed around in his head: he had no idea what happened, nor if it would happen again- _

“X!”

The sudden sound of his name made X nearly jump out of his chair. 

X realized that Professor Winn and every student had their eyes targeted at him. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair; for once, he felt a sense of anxiety being the center of attention. 

“Mr. Racer.” Professor Winn said in a matter-of-fact-tone. “Would you be able to tell the class how to avoid having your car getting hit by your opponent?” She gestured to the presentation behind her, which showed a diagram of a car about to ram into another car.

“Uh…hit the brakes and…” X bit his tongue, racking his brain for a response. “Move around the other driver.” The teen cringed and gulped, silently praying that he got that right. 

“That is technically correct Mr. Racer.” Professor Winn said through a tight jaw, nodding her head slightly. “Though might I suggest that you show a little more awareness during class.” With that, she turned her wheelchair and went back to her lecture. 

X released a sigh of relief and picked up his pencil. He didn’t have time to worry about last night; he didn’t want to worry about last night.

_ KRINK! _

A soft object hit X and the back of the head and fell to the ground. X looked down, and saw a small piece of crumpled paper roll up next to his shoe.

X picked up the piece of paper, and turned his head around to find the thrower. However, everyone nearby was either taking notes or were messing around on their phones. Confused, X looked back down and began unfolding the paper.

As X viewed the paper, his mouth went dry. It was a cover picture of the heavy metal band Harbingers promoting their new album  _ Hellfire _ . 

Now, a heavy metal poster wouldn’t be such a big deal. Rather, it was the  _ image _ on the poster that was a big deal.

Specifically an image of a skull surrounded by bright orange flames, similar to the... _ thing  _ X had turned into last night.

Additionally, a message was printed at the base of the picture, which appeared to be assembled from cutout magazine words. 

The message consisted of five simple words: I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy. Cliffhanger Time!
> 
> Hope that you all liked the chapter. I hope to start working on the next one soon; may take awhile with the coursework I have.
> 
> Also, I have created a bit of a voice cast for some of the characters.
> 
> X (in Ghost Rider form) - Steve Blum (doing his Heatblast voice from Ben 10)  
> Caretaker - Sam Elliot  
> Crimson Claw - Dee Bradley Baker  
> Scarecrow – Dave Wittenberg (Same person who voices Scarecrow in the Ghost Rider video game)  
> Verminous Rex – Christopher Lloyd  
> Kindred – Richard Steven Horvitz  
> Jack’O Lantern – Alex Hirsch (Bill Cipher/King voice)  
> Skin Bender – Stephanie Sheh (Nui Harime voice)  
> Madcap – Tom Kenny  
> Lucifer – Mark Hamil  
> The Highwayman – Clancy Brown  
> The Orb - None (Squishy noises)  
> Wallow – TheVolgun (SCP 049 voice)  
> Blackout – Troy Baker  
> Black Rose – Grey DeLisle  
> Mephisto - Ron Perlman  
> I haven’t decided on voices for Deputy Kowalski nor Lieutenant Badilino yet (so feel free to send suggestions). Let me know if you think these voices fit or if you have a different cast in mind.  
> Hope you all manage to stay healthy during these crazy times.  
> Stay tuned for more true believers.

**Author's Note:**

> Quite a bit of world-building and set up. More of the actual plot and introduction of the characters to follow in the next chapters.
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments (again, constructive criticism is appreciated). I have some of the chapters pre-written, so I'll try to post as soon as I can.
> 
> Stay tuned for more true believers.


End file.
